Class 
Book 




Copyright N°. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 



THE LIVES 



OF THE 



TWELVE APOSTLES 



OF 



JESUS THE CHRIST 



By 
OTTO L. SCHREIBER 



PHILADELPHIA 

General Council Publication House 

1912 



5 



A° 



"V ^ 



Copyright, 1912 
By Otto L. Schreiber 



LC Control Number 



tmp96 031660 



'CI,A36103 4 



5^ 





s3 









(Ho iHg 3Iif*. 



PREFACE. 



"P HE object of this book is to bring before the student 
of the Bible a history or sketch of the lives of the 
Twelve Apostles of Jesus the Christ. The material found 
in these sketches is taken from the four Gospels, the Acts 
of the Apostles, and in some instances a few Epistles. 
Legends and traditions of the early Christian Church re- 
garding the various Apostles have been used not because 
they are important and trustworthy, but because they 
show to some extent the missionary labors of the Twelve 
after the Ascension of the Lord. To bring out the per- 
sonality and character of the twelve men who surrounded 
Jesus is the sole object in putting tog-ether the various pas- 
sages of Scripture regarding them. 

. Otto L. Schreiber. 

September 25, 1912. 

North Tonawanda, N. Y. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. page 

The Sources 9 

CHAPTER II. 
The Period of Friendship 15 

CHAPTER III. 
The Period of Discipleship 25 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Period of Apostleship 31 

CHAPTER V. 

The Chosen Ones 40 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Training of the Apostles . 45 

CHAPTER VII. 

The First Missionary Enterprise 53 

CHAPTER VIII. 

St. Andrew 64 

CHAPTER IX. 
St. Bartholomew . 73 



ii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. page 

St. James, the Son of Alphaeus 80 

CHAPTER XI. 
St. James, the Son of Zebedee 84 

CHAPTER XII. 
St John, the Beloved Apostle 91 

CHAPTER XIII. 
St. John After the Ascension 98 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Judas Iscariot 103 

CHAPTER XV. 
Judas After the Betrayal 116 

CHAPTER XVI. 
St. Lebbaeus, Thaddaeus, Judas of James 124 

CHAPTER XVII. 
St. Matthew 127 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
St. Philip 134 

CHAPTER XIX 
Simon Peter 141 

CHAPTER XX. 
Peter After the Ascension of Jesus 155 

CHAPTER XXI. 
St. Simon Zelotes 162 

CHAPTER XXII. 
St. Thomas 1(>4 



THE 

TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST 



CHAPTER I. 

THE SOURCES. 



ALL the information we possess of the lives of the 
twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ is that which is 
recorded in the four Gospels and the first few chap- 
ters of the Book of Acts. The other books of the New 
Testament contain no information as to the relation be- 
tween Jesus and His Apostles, or to their activities dur- 
ing His earthly career. A few Old Testament proph- 
ecies furnish a little information as to the behavior of 
the Apostles on certain occasions. Tradition has, in the 
case of each Apostle, added to the Scripture narrative a 
story of subsequent activity and fate. 

As it was the aim of the Evangelists to give us a his- 
tory or biography of the Christ ; which, however, con- 
tains relatively but meagre accounts of His life and work, 
it must be expected that they can afford us only glimpses 
of the Twelve. Moreover, the Apostles were not their 
subject when writing their Gospels. The Christ was their 
subject. The sole aim of the Evangelists was to present 
to future times an account of what they knew of the 
Christ. They were so eager and determined on gazing 



10 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

steadfastly at the Sun of Righteousness, and in His bril- 
liancy and splendor, they lost sight of the satellites. Such 
was indeed the case, and, while a few more references are 
made to some of the more prominent of the Twelve than 
to others, we have no such material as allows any more 
than a fragmentary account of anyone. 

The life of Christ would be incomplete without the 
lives of His twelve Apostles. They are inseparably con- 
nected with the life of Jesus. Attention has been called to 
the numerous occasions on which the Apostles figure in 
the Gospels, so as to produce the impression that the 
Twelve are so prominent in them, because they are their 
ultimate authors. 1 But this supposition is unsubstantial. 
The Apostles may occupy an important place in the Gos- 
pels, yet they are never magnified ; it is Jesus alone Who 
is magnified. The Apostles stood in a certain relation 
to Jesus, and so the references made to them correspond 
exactly to the position they held. The Gospels are so 
much occupied with them simply because Jesus Himself 
was constantly occupied with them. 

When Jesus was performing the work on earth which 
His Father in Heaven had sent Him to do, 2 He worked 
with much diligence, zeal, earnestness, and patriotic love, 
teaching in the synagogues in Galilee, and preaching the 
Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sick- 
ness and all manner of disease among the people. 3 The 

1 Not one of the four Evangelists took a deeper interest in the 
Twelve than any of the rest. The Apostles hold substantially the 
same place in all the Gospels. Attempts have been made to charac- 
terize the Gospel of St. Mark as pre-eminently the Gospel of the Dis- 
ciples. This characterization would do injustice to the rest of the 
Gospels, which are equally Gospels of the disciples. 

2 John 9 : 4. 3 Matt. 4 : 23 ; 9 : 35 ; Mark 1 : 14, 34. 



THE SOUECES. 11 

result was that a great multitude of people followed Him 
from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem and from beyond the 
Jordan. 1 Many who were eager to be healed by Him, 
and hear Him speak words of eternal life and truth, be- 
came believers or disciples, in the sense that they were 
adherents or followers. 

Then, as now, such a remarkable Person — a Person 
Who was not only man as we are in everything except 
sin, but also true God — had a large multitude of follow- 
ers. The number of His disciples or adherents grew day 
by day, so that at last it was inconvenient, impracticable, 
and an impediment to Himself and His journeys — much 
more so during the last half year of His public Minis- 
try — to have them all constantly with Him. So, accord- 
ing to St. Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus called unto 
Him all His disciples or followers, and of them He chose 
Twelve, whom He would, whom also He named Apostles, 
that they might be with Him, and that He might send 
them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sickness 
and to cast out devils. 2 Without doubt, from the great 
multitude of these disciples, Jesus also appointed other 
seventy, whom He sent two by two before His face into 
every city and place, whithersoever He Himself would 
come. 3 Indeed, Jesus desired His disciples to follow Him, 
but it was impossible and inconvenient that all who be- 
lieved could continue to follow Him wherever He went, 
in the literal sense. Jesus thought it sufficient to have 
twelve constant and close companions who might hear 
and see whatever He said and did, ministering to His 
daily needs and witnessing His work. 

1 iNIatt. 4 : 25. 

2 Matt. 10 : 1 ; Mark 3 : 13-15 ; Luke 6 : 13 ; 9 : 1. 
3 Luke 10 : 1. 



12 



THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 



The twelve Apostles whom Jesus chose from the 
great mass of disciples that they might be with Him con- 
stantly are arranged in the Synoptical Gospels and in the 
Acts according to the following: lists : 



Matt. 10 : 2-4. 


Mark 3 : 16-19. Luke 6 : 14-16. 

First Group. 


Acts 1 : 13. 


Simon Peter 


Simon Peter Simon Peter 


Peter 


Andrew 


James Andrew 


James 


James 


John James 


John 


John 


Andrew John 

Second Group. 


Andrew 


Philip 


Philip Philip 


Philip 


Bartholomew 


Bartholomew Bartholomew 


Thomas 


Thomas 


Matthew Matthew 


Bartholomew 


Matthew 


Thomas Thomas 

Third Group. 


Matthew 


James of Alphaeus 


James of Alphaeus James of Alphaeus 


James of Alphaeus 


Lebbaeus, Thaddaeus 


Thaddaeus Simon Zelotes 


Simon Zelotes 


Simon the Canaanite 


Simon the Canaanite Judas of James 


Judas of James 


Judas Iscariot 


Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot 





A careful study of these four lists will reveal that the 
twelve names are arranged into three groups of four. In 
each group the same names are always found, but the or- 
der of names varies, except the first name of each of the 
three groups, which in all cases is the same — the first, 
fifth and ninth place being occupied in all by Simon Peter, 
Philip, and James of Alphaeus, respectively. As might 
be expected, the first group contains the names of those 
who are best known to us, the second the next best, and 
the last those least known of all. The Evangelists do 
not give the names of the Apostles according to their 
rank, selection or first meeting with Jesus. The Twelve 
chosen from the multitude of believers were all chosen 
on a certain occasion, whereas the specific call to follow 
Jesus occurred at various times. Of the Twelve only 
seven are recorded in the sacred narrative as called bv 



THE SOURCES. 13 

Jesus — Andrew, John, Peter, Philip, Bartholomew (Na- 
thanael), James and Matthew. Of these seven, again, the 
first five are recorded as having been brought to Jesus in 
two days. The call of James occurred while he was fish- 
ing on the Sea of Galilee with his brother John and his 
companions, Andrew and Peter. Matthew was called 
while Jesus was on one of His journeys from Capernaum 
to the Galilean Sea. 

The apostolic roll, according to alphabetical arrange- 
ment, together with their characteristic epithets found in 
the various Gospels, was as follows : 

i. Andrew .... Simon Peter's brother. 

2. Bartholomew Nathanael, An Israelite without guile. 

3. James Son of Alphaeus. 

4. James . . . . Son of Zebedee | Sons of thundeT} Boanerges 

5. John James' brother > 

6. Judas Iscariot The man of Kerioth. The traitor. 

7. Lebbaeus . . . Surnamed Thaddaeus, Judas of James, The 

trinomius. 

8. Matthew . . . Levi, The publican. 

9. Philip The diligent searcher. 

10. Simon Peter Son of Jona, Cephas (a stone, rock). 

11. Simon The Canaanite, Zelotes, The Zealot. 

12. Thomas . . . The doubter, the melancholy. Called Didymus. 

From a survey of this group it is apparent that there 
were two sets of brothers — Andrew and Peter, James 
and John. Two of the Twelve bore Greek names — An- 
drew, meaning man, and Philip, meaning lover of horses. 
A further survey will show that three names were borne 
each by two different disciples — Simon, by Peter and 
the Canaanite ; James by one of Zebedee's sons, and by a 
son of Alphaeus, usually designated as James the Major 
and James the Minor ; and Judas, by the disciple that was 
called Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddaeus, and by Iscariot, 
whom all the Evangelists brand as the traitor. 



14 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

From the time that Jesus met His first five disciples 
who were destined eventually to become five of His Apos- 
tles, until the day of His Ascension, we can clearly dis- 
tinguish three periods in the accounts of the Apostles' 
association with Him; firstly, the period of friendship; 
secondly, the period of discipleship; and thirdly, the pe- 
riod of apostleship. We must always remember that, 
while Jesus chose the Twelve as His Apostles all at once, 
on a certain occasion, all the disciples were called at va- 
rious times. Therefore these three periods do not apply 
to the history of all the Apostles, but only to those few 
who first became acquainted with Him. 



THE PEEIOD OF FRIENDSHIP. 15 



CHAPTER II. 
THE PERIOD OF FRIENDSHIP. 

IT is evident from the Gospel narrative that several 
of the Apostles had been on the most intimate terms 
with their Master before He selected them as His 
Apostles. We learn that, in fact, the most prominent of 
the Twelve passed through two stages of relationship to 
their Lord before He selected them to become Apostles. 
The most prominent were first called to become disciples 
in the most general sense of the term. Their relation to 
Him was hardly anything more than that of friends, at- 
tending Him on several occasions, but acting as sort of 
apprentices, learners or beginners in a new kind of work, 
in contrast to their Teacher, the Christ. They found a new 
Master and undertook to learn from him as apprentices. 
They were entering upon an indefinite period of appren- 
ticeship or friendship. After a while, however, they were 
summoned to leave their usual occupation and become 
the personal companions of Jesus. This period of friend- 
ship began shortly after the Jews sent priests and Levites 
from Jerusalem to Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, to John 
the Baptist to find out who he was. 1 About the same 
time when this delegation went to inquire about John, 
Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness of the devil. 2 
After the Temptation our Lord returned to Bethabara, in 
Peraea, oh the banks of the Jordan, where John was bap- 
tizing. 3 This is the scene where the friendship of Jesus 
ijohn i : 19, 28. 2 Luke 4 : 1, 2. 3 John 1 : 29. 



16 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

and His first few disciples sprang up, and from this time 
forth these few disciples were engaged, attending Him as 
His apprentices. 

John the Baptist was a remarkable man for the age in 
which he lived. He spent his youth in the desert as a 
hermit, living on locusts and wild honey, while he clothed 
himself with camel's hair and with a girdle of a skin 
about his loins. 1 When he stepped forth from his re- 
treat he appeared in Peraea, at Bethabara, near the Jor- 
dan, preparing the way for Him, Who was to come after 
him, but Who was preferred before him. It was his 
office, as he himself acknowledged, to be the forerunner 
of the Messiah. 2 Therefore, when John appeared in the 
wilderness at Peraea with the words of prophecy, "Re- 
pent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," 3 multitudes 
came out to hear him. All classes and conditions of men 
came to him and were seemingly fearful of the judgment 
of God, which he proclaimed. 4 We are not to suppose 
that all who flocked to hear John, repented and prepared 
themselves for the coming of the Kingdom. Some, even 
as today, came and listened and returned home unmoved 
in their hearts. On the other hand, those who were 
stirred in their inmost being at what he said, those who 
repented and confessed their sins, and showed a willing- 
ness on their part to bring forth good fruits, were bap- 
tized by him. Some of those who were baptized, we 
conclude, were determined to hear John still more and 
thus united themselves in a group of disciples who fol- 
lowed him. Some of the men upon whom John made a 

^latt. 3 : 4. s Matt. 3 : 2. 

2 John 1 : 27. 4 Luke 3 : 7-14. 



THE PERIOD OF FRIENDSHIP. 17 

deep impression were Andrew, John, Peter, Philip and 
Nathanael, all from Galilee. 

During this period of discipleship with John, the Bap- 
tist freely discussed with them the subject of the long- 
promised Messiah. He who was called to be His fore- 
runner knew whereof he spoke, and so he frequently 
alluded to One. Who was greater than he, and Who 
should come after himself. With reference to the Great- 
er One, John called himself a mere voice crying in the 
wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." 1 And 
with reference to his Baptism he said, "I baptize with wa- 
ter; but there standeth one among you, whom ye know 
not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before 
me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.'" 2 
These conversations of the Baptist awakened in the breast 
of his disciples a desire to see the Coming One. This 
One Who was preferred before him and coming after him 
was none other than He, Who a few days later made His 
appearance at the very spot where John was baptizing 
and preparing the hearts and minds of his disciples — the 
King of Israel, the Messiah, the Lamb of God. 

Once before Jesus and John had met — at the Baptism 
of Jesus. 3 We cannot tell whether this second meeting 
in Peraea happened by arrangement between His fore- 
runner and Himself at the time of the Christ's Baptism. 
but nothing seems more clear to us than that it was nat- 
ural for the Christ to go to the scene of the Baptist's ac- 
tivity. For by so doing His forerunner could best fulfill 
his important duty. If He were near enough to be pointed 
out by him, his work would be more effectual. Accord- 

^ohn i : 23. 2 John 1 : 26-27. 

3 Matt. 3 : 13 ; Mark 1:9; Luke 3 : 21. 

2 



18 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

ingly, seeing- Jesus coming unto him one day, John said 
in the hearing of some of his disciples, "Behold the Lamb 
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." 1 No 
doubt at first his disciples did not catch the meaning of 
this remarkable expression. On the next day, when John 
was standing with two of his disciples on the same soil 
ready to bear fruit, he fixed a steadfast gaze on the Lord 
and said again in the hearing of these two disciples, "Be- 
hold the Lamb of God." 2 The desire to see the Lamb of 
God, which John had awakened in the breast of his disci- 
ples, had now been fulfilled. This remarkable expression 
doubtless suggested to his hearers that this was the Mes- 
siah. Having the Lamb of God pointed out to them, the. 
two disciples — Andrew and John — followed Him. 3 They 
did not follow the Messiah because commanded by their 
master, but they simply followed the dictates of feelings 
that John had awakened in their breasts when he spoke 
to them of Jesus, both on the present and on former 
occasions. 

These two disciples of John being asked by the Mes- 
siah what they sought, answered, "Rabbi, where dwellest 
thou?" Being told to come and see, they went and re- 
mained with Him that day. 4 What passed on that day 
between Jesus and His new friends we know not. We 
can, however, from the incidents of a few hours later, 
infer that Jesus proved to them to be what the Baptist 
had declared — the Messiah. Not a single word is re- 
corded of the discussion which brought them to this con- 
clusion, but the true explanation is to be found partly in 
the testimony of the Baptist, partly and pre-eminently in 

1 John i : 29. :i John 1 : 37. 

* John 1 : 36. + John T : 38-39. 



THE PERIOD OF FRIENDSHIP. 19 

the impression produced on them by the personality of 
Jesus. Was He not quite different from all other men? 
Did He not distinguish Himself from all other men, in 
character, words, language and deeds? Before they 
quitted the house where they staid over night, they were 
convinced that they had found the Messiah. The result 
of this first day of intercourse was that the two disciples 
of John became followers of Jesus, and entered into the 
workshop of Jesus as apprentices. 

Those who had been scholars for a few hours soon be- 
came teachers and leaders. The tidings they had learned 
were too good to keep to themselves. Moreover, the la- 
bors of the Baptist were to bring greater results than 
merely that of these two. Henceforth, every day his la- 
bors should bring forth new fruits. Andrew, one of the 
new acquaintances of Jesus, had a brother named Simon 
who had also been a disciple of John. He could not bear 
to keep the good news that he had heard to himself but 
went out to find first his own brother. He succeeded, 
and said unto him, "We have found the Messiah, which 
is, being interpreted, the Christ." 1 We can imagine the 
two approaching the Master. Jesus, upon seeing the 
brother, reading his character and knowing its possibil- 
ities, bestowed upon him the name by which he is now 
known to the whole world — Peter. Immediately when 
Jesus beheld him, He uttered the solemn declaration, 
"Thou art Simon, the son of Jona : thou shalt be called 
Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone." 2 — Peter. It 
is not quite certain whether John also went out to seek 
his brother. The language employed in the case of An- 
drew, "He first findeth his own brother Simon," seems 
^ohn i : 41. 2 John 1 : 42. 



20 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

to indicate that John also went and searched for his 
brother. Probably he was not successful in finding him. 
At any rate, we are not told that James, the brother of 
John, was brought to Jesus. This ended the first day of 
friendship. Jesus had won three new friends. One by 
one, not all, however, left the company of the Baptist and 
followed Him Who was greater than he. 

The following day, for some reasons unknown, Jesus 
intended to return to Galilee, 1 His three friends following 
Him. He could not have gone very far before He became 
acquainted with two more men. One He met on His jour- 
ney; the other was brought to Him by the one He met. 
Both had probably been disciples of John. We must re- 
member that on the first day Jesus had remained in the 
vicinity of John's preaching station, and early in the 
morning of the following day, as Jesus was leaving this 
place, ready to depart for Galilee, He met Philip, who 
hailed from Galilee, in the same vicinity. On starting, 
therefore, for Galilee, Jesus saw Philip and called him 
to follow Him. 2 Moreover, the instant obedience ren- 
dered, suggests that Philip had already been told of the 
close proximity of Jesus the Messiah, probably by his 
friends and fellow-townsmen, Andrew and Peter, and be- 
lieved that Jesus was the Messiah. The information 
which the fourth Evangelist gives us concerning the resi- 
dence of Philip, as being the same as that of Andrew and 
Peter, 3 seems to suggest that these two were somewhat 
instrumental in making clear the way for Philip to be 
called by Jesus. 

Philip's next act after following Jesus was to seek his 

^ohn i : 43. 'John 1 : 43. 3 John 1 : 44. 



THE PERIOD OF FRIENDSHIP. 21 

friend, Nathanael, and inform him of his new Friend, 
Whom he recognized as Him, of "whom Moses in the 
Law and the Prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the 
Son of Joseph." 1 After his call Philip must have been 
somewhat in advance of the rest, or he must have stepped 
aside from the road leading into Galilee, to find his ac- 
quaintance, Nathanael, who was a native of Cana, in 
Galilee. 2 We possess more notices of Nathanael as intro- 
ductory matter, and more interesting at the same time, 
than of any other thus far mentioned. Nathanael has gen- 
erally been identified with Bartholomew. Bartholomew 
signifies in Aramaic, "Son of Tolmai." Thus the full name 
of Philip's acquaintance would be Nathanael, the son of 
Tolmai. Nathanael was a man of great moral excellence. 
In the language of the Gospel, he is described as "an 
Israelite, in whom there is no guile." Upon being in- 
formed by Philip that He, whom Moses and the Prophets 
had as their subject in their writings, was nigh, Na- 
thanael, at first hesitating whether He who was to come, 
and described by Philip as "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of 
Joseph," asked incredulously, "Can there any good thing- 
come out of Nazareth?" 3 Philip, in reply, used the same 
words which Jesus had used the day before in the case of 
Andrew and John, "Come and see." And the result was 
the same. Nathanael came and saw quite differently from 
what he had expected to see. Immediately upon seeing 
him, Jesus exclaimed, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in 
whom there is no guile !" i Nathanael, full of astonish- 
ment, questioned Jesus, "Whence knowest thou me?" 
The answer of Jesus was characteristic, "Before that 

1 John i : 45. 5 John 1 : 46. 

3 John 21 : 2. *John 1 : 47. 



22 THE TWELVE APOSTLES 0¥ JESUS CHRIST. 

Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I 
saw thee." It was as much as if He had said, "Before 
Philip called thee, I saw into thy heart, and knew how 
thou wast engaged in spiritual exercises, and therefore, 
I pronounce thee an Israelite." The knowledge which 
Jesus displayed of his character and of his inmost soul 
convinced him that He was, indeed, what Philip had de- 
clared Him to be, and forthwith he exclaimed, "Thou art 
the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel." What a 
happy day for Nathanael to meet the King of that realm 
whereof he was declared to be a citizen. 

These were the first five believers in Jesus. All were 
natives of Galilee. Two of them were brothers — Andrew 
and Peter. Two of them found two others, Andrew 
sought his brother Peter,and brought him to Jesus ; Philip 
hastily looked for his friend Nathanael and ushered him 
into the presence of the Messiah. Thus from the very 
first, the Apostles proved to be Home Missionaries. They 
were engaged in bringing others to Jesus. The Evan- 
gelists give us few notices of these five, but we can easily 
conclude from the scant information that they were all 
pious men. They belonged to that motley band described 
at different times by the Evangelists as "Who was wait- 
ing for the Consolation of Israel," and they patiently 
waited for Him Who was to come in answer to the 
Prophet's promises. Furthermore, the statement is made 
that they were "Disciples of John the Baptist," who him- 
self was a God-sent man. He was more than a Prophet ; 
he was the one appointed to go directly before the Lamb 
of God and point Him out to sinners. John was a pious 
man, faithful in his office as a servant of God. To be in 
his company, as the five new friends of Jesus had been, 



THE PERIOD OF FRIENDSHIP. 23 

would help to make them spiritually earnest men. If the 
disciples were anything like their master, they were men 
"who hungered and thirsted after righteousness." 

Thus, the first period in the histor}^ of the Apostles was 
begun — the period of friendship. During this period the 
five were simply believers in Jesus as the Messiah. At 
the same time, during this period, they were where Jesus 
was, when convenient. We must bear in mind that dur- 
ing this period of friendship no permanent bonds united 
Jesus to His five friends whom He had gathered around 
Him. They resumed, when necessary, as they did on a 
much later occasion, their work as fishermen. 1 Still they 
were His companions on several occasions. Some of 
these occasions are mentioned by St. John in his Gospel. It 
was only three days after this first meeting of Jesus and 
His friends, when there was a marriage at Cana of Gal- 
ilee. Both Jesus was called and His disciples to the mar- 
riage. 2 How many of His disciples accepted the invita- 
tion and accompanied Him to Cana and witnessed His 
first miracle is not certain; if not all, at any rate, the ma- 
jority. After the wedding Jesus went to Capernaum with 
His mother and brethren and new friends, but they did 
not remain there very long. About this time the Jews' 
Passover was drawing nigh. Jesus went to Jerusalem on 
this occasion, and, entering the Temple, at once purged 
His Father's House of those defilers, who made an house 
of merchandise out of it. 3 As in the case of the Marriage 
of Cana, so here, the same uncertainty arises in connec- 
tion with the number of the disciples who witnessed the 
purging of the Temple of the traffickers. Two other in- 
stances are recorded as having taken place during this 
1 John 21 : iff. { John 2 : 1-2. s John 2 : i3ff. 



24 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

period — His visit to the scene where John was baptiz- 
ing — namely, in Aenon, near to Salim, in Judaea, 1 and 
His return from Judaea through Samaria to Galilee, 
stopping at Sychar, in Samaria, imparting words and 
drawing water of eternal life. 2 On the former occasion 
the disciples were engaged in baptizing 3 — their first re- 
corded work. On the latter occasion they had departed 
for the city of Sychar to attend to His bodily wants. 4 It 
would seem as if, after these four recorded incidents, the 
disciples returned to their usual occupation, and our Lord 
retired for a while from public life. 

The behavior of Jesus on these occasions had no other 
effect than to produce faith in His followers. Their creed, 
after having been with Jesus during this first period, and 
after having witnessed His first miracle and work was 
something like this, "O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- 
cob, we believe in Jesus, the Divine Prophet, the Divine 
King of Israel, and long-promised and expected Messiah 
of the Prophets." Was not the first miracle at Cana some- 
thing new ? We read, "Jesus manifested forth His glory ; 
and His disciples believed on Him." 5 Whoever purged 
the Temple so thoroughly and with such authority? His 
disciples remembered that it was written, "The zeal of 
thine house hath eaten me up." 6 

i John 3 : 23. * John 4 : 8. 

2 John 4 : 3ft'. 5 John 2:11. 

3 John 4 : 2. "John 2 : 17. 



THE PERIOD OF DISCIPLESHIP. 25 



CHAPTER III. 
THE PERIOD OF DISCIPLESHIP. 

THE period of friendship did not last long — at the 
most two months. It soon ripened into the pe- 
riod of discipleship. After a short interval of retire- 
ment from public life, our Lord resumed His labors, 
mainly in Galilee, and continued them without interrup- 
tion until His death. Shortly before our Lord began His 
Galilean Ministry another event occurred in Judaea. John 
the Baptist, who played an important part in the prepara- 
tion of the Kingdom of God and in directing the first 
few disciples to Jesus, had been imprisoned by Herod. 1 
He had very little prospect of being released and of con- 
tinuing the work for which he had been sent. Xo doubt 
Jesus regarded this imprisonment as the end of the Bap- 
tist's career : He felt determined to do more than He had 
yet done, and to continue the good work which John had 
begun. To accomplish this Jesus developed a ministry of 
His own. 

During the period of friendship Jesus had labored and 
worked miracles in each of the provinces of the Holy 
Land, west of the Jordan, in Judaea, Samaria and Gal- 
ilee. During the next period He was publicly engaged 
only in Galilee. The scene was the coast of the Galilean 
Sea, 2 mainly at Capernaum. 3 For various reasons Jesus 
had changed His residence from Nazareth to Capernaum. 
Although Jesus had taught in His home synagogue, and 
performed mighty works on the streets of the town of 
1 Mark r 14. l Matt. 11 : 20-24. i Matt. 4 : 13. 



26 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHBIST. 

His youth, yet the Nazarenes were astonished, and said. 
"Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty 
works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His 
mother called Mary ? Are not His sisters married in our 
town? Whence then hath this man all these things?" l 
They were offended in Him; they scorned Him. Those 
with authority in the synagogue were rilled with wrath 
and rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him 
unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, 
and would fain have cast Him down headlong had He not 
passed through the midst of them and went His way. 
But Jesus Himself declared in the synagogue, when He 
noticed their attitude, that no prophet was accepted in his 
own country. 2 So out He must go. Nazareth was no 
more the chosen place of His Ministry. "He did not 
many mighty works there because of their unbelief." 3 

On the other hand, our Lord chose Capernaum as the 
centre of His activity because of its location and impor- 
tance. It was His desire to bring under His influence as 
many of the inhabitants of His beloved Galilee as possible. 
There was no better centre from which to operate and 
extend His influence than Capernaum. It was an impor- 
tant town of Galilee. Situated on the "Great Road" lead- 
ing from Damascus to the Mediterranean Sea, it was an 
important custom station. Many other great roads con- 
verged here. The town was not only important but also 
quite large and in close proximity to many others of the 
same size and to the Galilean Sea. The inhabitants of 
Capernaum were not like the other people of the land at 
that time. They were intensely Jewish, and, therefore, 
not influenced by heathenish customs or tastes. All this 
1 Matt. 13 : 54-57. 2 Luke 4: 24. s Matt 13: 58. 



THE PEEIOD OF DISCIPLESHIP. 27 

being true of Capernaum in our Lord's times, no more 
suitable place from which to influence the Galileans could 
have been chosen. 

No sooner had Jesus changed His residence from Naz- 
areth to Capernaum than He immediately began His work 
for which He had made the change. Capernaum was 
close to the Sea of Galilee. Peter and Andrew, who 
hailed from Bethsaida, 1 had also previously settled in 
Capernaum. 2 John, who also probably hailed from Beth- 
saida or some other coast town, was, together with his 
father, Zebedee, and his brother, James, in the same vicin- 
ity. They were all fishermen, earning their daily bread 
from the proceeds derived from their fishing-nets. Walk- 
ing along the shore of the sea which these fishermen fre- 
quented, Jesus beheld two of His old acquaintances — An- 
drew and John — casting their nets into the sea. Think- 
ing the time had come to have them with Him oftener, 
that they might see and hear and prepare themselves 
for the third period — that of Apostleship — Jesus said to 
them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 
And straightway they left their nets and followed Him." 3 
Down the shore a little way Jesus saw three other men — 
one was John, another of His old acquaintance. The 
other, differing in age only a year or two from him, was 
his brother James. The elderly man was Zebedee, their 
father. As in the case of Peter and Andrew, they were 
industrious, hard-working fishermen. They had been 
mending their worn-out nets. Jesus, approaching this 
new group of men, with His two disciples, Andrew and 
Peter, called them, "And they immediately left the ship 
and their father, and followed Him." 4 

■John i : 44. 2 Mark 1 : 29. 3 Matt. 4: 18-20. *Matt. 4: 21-22. 



2S THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

One more incident in connection with these calls is re- 
corded in St. Luke's narrative. The incident, no doubt, 
proves that the disciples were somewhat immature as re- 
gards their faith. It refers to the case of Simon Peter. 
Other disciples began to press around Jesus. Whether 
they had also been called as the four fishermen, or whether 
they had been drawn to Him in some other manner, the 
Evangelists do not say. At any rate, a multitude of those 
who were eager to hear Him, and followed Him, pressed 
around Jesus, so that he "entered into a ship" (the owner 
of which happened to be Simon Peter) , and requested him 
to thrust out a little from the land. Sitting down in the 
ship, He taught the people on the shore from the vessel. 
The discourse Avas soon ended to the chagrin of the mul- 
titude. Thereupon Jesus again made a request to the 
owner of the boat. "Launch out into the deep and let 
down your nets for a draught." The answer of Peter is 
striking, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have 
taken nothing; nevertheless at Thy word, I will let down 
the net." For this last effort, the owner of the boat was 
rewarded by a miraculous catch. A great multitude of 
fishes were found in the net, which could not hold such a 
weight, so the net tore. Their partners, James and John, 
who were in another boat, were called and helped them 
with this extraordinary draught. But when all was fin- 
ished, Peter, who seems to have been the most impressed 
and astonished, "fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'De- 
part from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' " * 

In calling these four fishermen from their trade, our 
Lord had a definite aim. They were to be no longer fish- 
ers. They were to exchange their secular calling for a 
1 Luke 5 : 3'3. 



THE PERIOD OF DISCIPLESHIP. 29 

divine one. The duty to which He now invited them was 
an advance on their former relationship. And the nat- 
ure of that sacred calling was not wholly obscure. The 
allusion to the trade which they were bidden to forsake 
illustrates the nature of the duties to which they were 
called. They were to cast the net of their sacred calling 
out in the wide ocean of the world and pull to the shore 
of His gracious Kingdom, of which they were the pillars, 
a multitude of true-hearted and believing souls. All four 
fishermen realized that they were to be employed con- 
tinuously in the service of their new Master. They were 
not surprised at this new call, because the majority of 
them had already served an apprenticeship to Him, when, 
in obedience to His command, they baptized in the Aenon, 
near Salim. 

One more call is recorded as having taken place in Ca- 
pernaum — that of Matthew. The call of Matthew must 
have taken place only a short time after Jesus com- 
manded the four fishermen to follow Him. Matthew had 
been employed as a collector of taxes in the town of Ca- 
pernaum. Here in Capernaum Jesus had healed a palsied 
man, and it was as Jesus was on His way from the house 
of the cured man to perform some other work that He 
saw Matthew sitting at the receipt of customs and said 
unto him, "Follow me.'' Like the four fishermen, he 
obeyed. He arose and followed Him. The expression, 
that he arose as soon as the command was given, would 
suggest that he immediately left all money, books, his of- 
fice outfit, and followed Jesus. 1 

During the remainder of this period the rest of the 
Twelve must have been called by Jesus to follow Him. 
JMatt. 9: 9. 



30 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Although only the call of Peter, Andrew, James, John 
and Matthew are recorded in the Gospels, we must assume 
that the calls of the rest of the disciples took place shortly 
after, but still within the first year of the Lord's public 
Ministry. New disciples or followers crowded around 
Him daily. Some were commanded to follow Him; oth- 
ers again sought to follow Him of their own accord. The 
number grew day by day, and soon the time came when 
certain of His disciples must enter upon a third and last 
period of association with Him. 

The call to follow Him during the second period had 
assumed a deep meaning. In this second period the disci- 
ples were to attend upon His Person uninterruptedly, 
thereby abandoning entirely, or at least to the greater 
part, their secular occupation. 1 The four fishermen for- 
sook all, their boats, nets, and in the case of James and 
John, their father. Matthew arose, forsook his custom 
office and followed Him. It was not, however, necessary 
to forsake father and mother and sister and brother to be 
in the state of discipleship. It was sufficient to forsake 
all worldly aims and pursuits, and to let the dead bury 
their dead, as in the case of one of His admirers, who de- 
sired to follow Jesus, but who wished first to go and bury 
his father. 2 

!The meaning of disciple, in the first place, is a pupil or 
learner, in contrast to teacher. In connexion with this first view, 
Jesus said, "The disciple is not above his master, nor is the servant 
above his Lord (Matt. 10 : 24). In the second place, a disciple is 
an adherent or follower, one who identifies himself with a certain 
leader or school of thought, and adopts a corresponding line of con- 
duct. With regard to this second view, St. Mark makes the dis- 
ciples of the Pharisees, who were accustomed to fast, say to Jesus, 
"Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy 
disciples fast not?" (Mark 2 : 18). 

2 Matt. 8: 21-22. 



THE PERIOD OF APOSTLESHIP. 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE PERIOD OF APOSTLESHIP. 

WE must be aware that as Jesus continued to be en- 
gaged in His work, His efforts were not without 
success; the work of the Kingdom of God extended until 
at last it had assumed such dimensions as to require a 
change in His method of work. The number of His disci- 
ples or followers had grown day by day. In every village 
which He entered He summoned disciple after disciple to 
His side. And in nearly all instances the summons was 
obeyed. The number, however, became so great that it 
was impossible that all who believed or became His disci- 
ples could continue henceforth to follow Him, in the lit- 
eral sense of the term', whithersoever He went. Would not 
the great multitude of disciples be an impediment to His 
work and journeys, especially those which occurred dur- 
ing the last few weeks of His public Ministry? But it was 
not thus to be. Jesus knew that soon the final crisis would 
come, and that He must go to Jerusalem to fulfill all 
things. It would be better to have only a few chosen ones 
with Him than a multitude of them. He had determined, 
in order that His work might be successful for all times, 
to select a definite number from the great multitude of 
His disciples for the purpose of accompanying Him at all 
times and all places. As to His traveling companions on 
all His journeys, they were to be witnesses of all His 
works, and to minister to His daily needs. The name that 
Jesus gave to the definite number of disciples He selected 



32 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

from the great multitude, St. Luke informs us, was that 
of Apostles. 1 As soon as He had called them to this new 
position, the Twelve entered upon the last period of their 
relationship to Jesus — the period of Apostleship. This 
period continued until their death. 

Before Jesus, however, made a definite selection of 
men from the great body of His followers He spent the 
preceding night on a mount in prayer to His Heavenly 
Father. 2 This fact suggests that the step taken by Him 
was an important one in His life. It was a critical hour 
of His life. A serious mistake would be followed by dan- 
gerous results. Jesus recognized the importance of this 
step, so, in accordance with His own precept, He sought 
specific guidance from His Heavenly Father regarding 
the selection. It may be assumed that after He had 
sought guidance of His Father in this matter, and re- 
ceived it, that He made His final decision. 

On the next day Jesus called unto Him His disciples 
or followers and of them He chose twelve, whom He 
would, whom also He named Apostles. 3 The exact time 
when this event occurred cannot be definitely determined. 
From some of the leading Gospel narratives, however, 
we can learn as nearly as possible when the selection oc- 
curred. St. Luke is the most explicit in fixing the time. 
He records the formal selection of the Twelve imme- 
diately before his account of the Sermon on the Mount, 
thus suggesting to his readers that the one event fol- 
lowed the other, as though the sermon which followed 
was the first instruction that the Twelve received to fit 
them out for their work. 4 St. Mark agrees with St. Luke 

1 Luke 6: 13. 3 Luke 6: 13. 

2 Luke 6: 12. * Luke 6: 13-49. 



THE PERIOD OF APOSTLESHIP. 33 

in regard to the selection of the Twelve immediately be- 
fore the sermon on the Mount. His record is as follows : 
"And He goeth up in a mountain, and calleth unto Him 
whom He would ; and they came unto Him. And He or- 
dained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that 
He might send them forth to preach, and to have power 
to heal sickness, and to cast out devils." 1 The mission for 
which the Christ ordained the Twelve, however, was not 
carried out immediately. It occurred a few weeks later. 
Many events occurred between the selection of the Twelve 
and their first mission. Mark in his work records the 
sending out of the Twelve some time after, introducing 
the account with the words, "And He called unto Him the 
twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two." 2 
The ascent of Jesus just before He selected His twelve 
life companions, evidently refers to that which Jesus made 
just before He preached His famous sermon. Although 
Matthew refers to the Apostolic body in connection with 
their first mission, yet he does not say that they were se- 
lected immediately before, and with a special purpose to 
that mission. 3 St. John informs us that the Twelve were 
already an organized body at the time of the Feeding of 
the Five-thousand in the wilderness. This miracle, how- 
ever, took place, according to his own statement, shortly 
before a Passover season. 4 It certainly was not the Pass- 
over season of the year in which He was crucified. Nor 
was it the Passover season of the first year of His public 
Ministry, because during the first year Jesus had not 
many followers around Him. Our Lord at the outset 
did not increase the company of His immediate followers 

1 Mark 3: 13-15. 5 Matt. 10: if?. 

•Mark 6: 7. 4 John 6 : 4 ff. 

3 



34 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESL'S CHEIST. 

until it numbered twelve. The increase took place when 
the fame of His teaching and of His works as He went 
through the towns and villages of Galilee, teaching in 
their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the King- 
dom and healing every sickness and every disease among 
the people, 1 attracted to Him the attention of the populace 
and excited the resentment of the Scribes and Pharisees, 
that they began to take counsel together with the Herod- 
ians. 2 Jesus felt the need for more laborers, and it was 
evident to Him that the time for training such laborers 
was short. St. Matthew records, immediately before he 
narrates the calling of the Twelve, that when Jesus saw 
the multitude, He was "moved with compassion, because 
they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having 
no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, the har- 
vest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few ; pray ye 
therefore the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth 
laborers into the harvest." 3 That summons to prayer 
became more urgent and pressing in the light of St. 
Luke's narrative, that immediately prior to His choosing 
the Twelve the Lord "went into a mountain to pray, and 
continued all night in prayer to God." 4 The Twelve must 
then have been chosen a little before the Passover season 
of the second year of His public Ministry, or a little more 
than one year before His Crucifixion. 

It is worthy to note why Jesus chose just twelve Apos- 
tles. Why so few when the number of His disciples was 
unlimited, and destined to grow day by day? Did our 
Lord purposely select the number twelve? Why did He 
not choose another number ? Doubtless the number chosen 

'Matt. 9: 35. s Matt. 9: 36-38. 

-Mark -,: 6. * Luke 6: 12. 



THE PEEIOD OF APOSTLESHIP. 35 

was intended to be significant. It was a matter of choice. 1 
The importance of the number could not have been lost 
on the multitude of disciples who witnessed the selection 
of the Twelve. When our Lord chose twelve, He was 
evidently thinking of the twelve Tribes of Israel. The 
importance of the new number hinted that the Chooser 
was the long-promised and divine Messianic King of 
Israel. Israel still consisted ideally of twelve tribes, though 
ten of them had largely disappeared. The mission of the 
long-promised Messiah was to be to all the tribes of the 
nation. Hence Jesus designedly employed the number 
twelve. That Jesus employed that number designedly, 
in order to bring out its significance, we learn from the 
Christ's own statement when, speaking of the rewards 
awaiting the disciples in the Kingdom of Heaven for 
their labors and faithful services, He said, "Verily I say 
unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regen- 
eration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of 
his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging 
the twelve tribes of Israel." 2 There was one Apostle for 
each tribe. The significance of the number could not 
have failed to take hold even of the Twelve themselves 
when our Lord first called them. 

Not a single word of our Lord Himself, as to the aim 

1 It has been suggested by some that the number twelve was 
not a matter of choice, but that it was purely accidental. The 
claim has been made that our Lord did not choose a definite num- 
ber of disciples, but that He allowed any who wished to remain 
with Him to do so. In this way the number happened to reach 
twelve. They rather chose our Lord, not He them. We would, 
however, misinterpret the whole tenor of the statements regarding 
them, if we assume that the Twelve attached themselves to Jesus 
gradually. 

2 Matt. 19: 28. 



36 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

and purpose in choosing a special group of disciples, is 
recorded in any of the Gospel narratives. We can, how- 
ever, determine the aim of our Lord only by the issue, 
for it cannot be doubted that what the Twelve from the 
day of their choice proved to be, was that Jesus intended 
they should become. Although the Evangelists do not 
preserve any statement by our Lord Himself, yet the 
immediate purpose of the call is expressed by St. Mark, 
thus : "And He ordained twelve, that they should be with 
Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to 
have power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils." * In 
these words St. Mark also discloses the character and 
the all-important feature of the method of their training. 
According to this account by St. Mark, the purpose of 
our Lord in choosing them was that they might be with 
Him — be constantly in contact with His Personality — 
and that He might send them forth to announce the ap- 
proach of the Kingdom of God, endowed with the power 
to heal and exorcise. It cannot be doubted that this de- 
scription is a correct one as far as it goes, but it cannot 
be said to embrace the full scope of our Lord's purpose. 
This description defines His immediate rather than His 
ultimate aim. It only goes as far as the first attempt at 
Evangelization, as directed by Jesus Himself; not to that 
world-wide commission afterwards committed to them. 
Hence the purpose of our Lord in choosing the Twelve 
must be sought in the work actually entrusted to them. 
Arid who can better describe that work than our Lord 
Himself, when on the eve of His farewell He said in 
the presence of the Eleven, "As Thou hast sent me into 
the world, even so have I sent them into the world." 2 
1 Mark 3 : 14-15. » John 17 : 18 ; Acts 1 : 8. 



THE PEKIOD OF APOSTLESHIP. 37 

As He had been an envoy of the Father to earth and had 
interpreted the Father to them and to men with whom 
He came into contact, so were they to be His envoys and 
interpret Him to men, bearing witness to Him, by teach- 
ing the world how He lived, what He said, and what He 
wrought. They were to be His Apostles indeed. 

The meaning of the word "Apostle" is one who is sent 
forth, a delegate, an ambassador. 1 It implies that the one 
thus sent forth as a delegate represents the sender, as well 
as that it is his duty of carrying his message. The qual- 
ification of an Apostle, as the Early Church understood 
it, was evidently that they should have seen Him after 
His Resurrection ; 2 for it was his first duty to bear wit- 
ness of our Lord's Resurrection. They were to proclaim 
to the world a Risen Christ and a Living Saviour. In 
order to maintain the original number twelve, the Eleven, 
after the Ascension of Jesus, elected a substitute for 
Judas Iscariot in the person of Matthias. 3 Later on the 
divinely appointed Paul was admitted into this number. 
As a result of these two additions the Early Church evi- 
dently considered itself justified in modifying this qual- 
ification, so that others were also added to the "glorious 
company of the Apostles," thereby developing and en- 
larging the work of the Church. Those who were prom- 
inent in the work of the Early Church as a result re- 

iFrom the Greek, Apostolos, one sent forth, a delegate, 
ambassador, from apo, from, and stellein, to send. The word used 
in the New Testament to designate specifically that group of 
the Christ's disciples who were called by Him on a certain occasion 
to be His more intimate companions during His Ministry, and to 
proclaim, as His representatives, the Gospel to men, is found in 
Matt. 10 : 2 ; Mark 6 : 30, and John 13 : 16. 

5 Acts 2 : 32 ; Luke 24 : 48 ; Acts 1 : S, 22 ; 1 Cor. 9:1. 

5 Acts 1 : 23 ff . 



38 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

ceived the designation of "Apostle" besides the Twelve 
and Paul. St. Paul himself an Apostle refers to James, 
the Lord's brother, who was the head of the Church at 
Jerusalem, as an Apostle. 1 There can be no doubt that 
all these leaders — Matthias, Paul, and James — had this 
qualification. From another statement by St. Paul we 
must infer that all of the Lord's brothers were rec- 
ognized as such after the Ascension. 2 St. Luke in his 
Acts of the Apostles regards Barnabas, St. Paul's com- 
panion on his first mission tour from Antioch, as an 
Apostle. 3 Andronicus and Junia, all early disciples and 
kinsmen and fellow-prisoners with Paul, are mentioned 
by him as distinguished Apostles. 4 Possibly Apollos and 
Silvanus are intended by him to be considered as Apos- 
tles. 5 These also may have had the qualifications of an 
Apostle, for they may have been among those five hun- 
dred brethren, of whom St. Paul speaks, that had seen 
the Risen Lord. 6 

The ability to work miracles and signs and to convert 
those to God to whom the Gospel was brought, 7 were 
among the credentials of the Apostolic office. These also 
had the peculiar right of appointing the officers of the 
local churches founded by them. 8 The characteristic duty 
of the office consisted, most likely, in the preaching of the 
Gospel. 9 

The question of a division of the missionary field 
amongst the Apostles finds no answer in the Scriptures. 
In the Epistle to the Galatians, 10 however, we have a ref- 

^al. i : 19. 6 i Cor. 15 : 6. 

J i Cor. 9:5. 7 2 Cor. 12: 12. 

8 Acts 13: 2-4; 14: 14. 8 Acts 14: 23. 

'Rom. 16: 7. 9 Acts 6: 2-4; t Cor. 1: 17. 

5 1 Cor. 4: 6, 9. 10 Gal. 2: 9. 



THE PERIOD OF APOSTLESHIP. 39 

erence to an agreement, decided upon by the Apostles 
James, Peter and John, at the conference at Jerusalem. 
According to this agreement, the three were to go to the 
Jews — Peter being recognized as the leader of the mission 
to the circumcision, which would naturally mean, in gen- 
eral terms, the Jews residing in Palestine. Paul and Bar- 
nabas were recognized as the leaders to the uncircum- 
cision, which would naturally indicate the Gentiles be- 
yond the limits of Palestine. Even this agreement was 
not strictly carried out, since Paul began his work in 
most places by preaching in the synagogue, while the 
address of St. Peter's first Epistle would certainly imply 
that Peter had a considerable congregation of Gentile 
Christians in Asia Minor. 1 

1 1 Peter i : i. 



40 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE CHOSEN ONES. 

NOT only do the Evangelists pass over the time and 
the place of the election without a word but they 
also give us no hint as to the scene. It would be impos- 
sible to give a correct description of the scene. We are 
not told whether this important event in our Lord's Min- 
istry produced any excitement among the number of the 
disciples. Usually there is some excitement in a crowd. 
Of What did the excitement, if there was any in this 
crowd, consist? What were the thoughts of the multitude 
when they saw Jesus ascend a mountain to select a cer- 
tain number of them? Did they rejoice? Did they all 
throng around Him eagerly, in the hope that they might 
hear their names mentioned? What impressions did our 
Lord make upon the multitude when He stood on the 
mountain side, selecting here one, there one, and over 
there another? Did any of the chosen ones feel them- 
selves fit to be called ? Did any in the crowd think within 
himself at the mention of any one, "He certainly should 
not have been called?" Were the rest satisfied when 
Jesus finished the task? Were any of the rejected ones 
disappointed at not being called? Did the rest discuss 
why He had chosen such a class of men as the Twelve 
actually were? Did they discuss the reason why so few 
were chosen, when the multitude afforded a higher num- 
ber ? Who were the Twelve ? All these questions find no 
answer in the Gospel narratives. Only the last question 



THE CHOSEN ONES. 41 

can be answered correctly when the subsequent history 
and character of the Twelve is taken into account. 

All facts concerning the early life of the Twelve are 
uncertain. The age of none is given. We would, how- 
ever, not be far from the mark if we put down their age 
as nearly the same as their Master's. They were all 
young men, probably all younger than our Lord Himself. 
The birthplace of some is mentioned, but nothing else of 
their childhood or youth. With the exception of prob- 
ably one or two, none had received more than a common 
education. Yet they were not illiterate men. They were 
not inferior in knowledge of their fellow-citizens and 
fellow-countrymen. No, all were able to read and write. 
Ten of the New Testament Books were composed by 
them, and all of these books show that they were not in 
the least illiterate. Their works rank the highest in the 
world's literature. The language they used was the Ara- 
maic, and probably all of them could speak and read 
Greek. They were men who had been brought up from 
the earliest times in the true knowledge of God as it was 
taught in their synagogues. 

The character of the Twelve was good, as well as 
their morals, pure. From their future career we gather 
that they were pious men, honest, God-fearing. Espe- 
cially after they had been in the company of Jesus for 
some time, they became men of justice and mercy. When 
prosecuting their work they were diligent, hating idle- 
ness. They were men who were willing to undergo many 
hardships and persecutions for the truth's sake. 

There is no evidence that any of the Apostles were dis- 
tinguished by social rank. Four of them — Peter, An- 
drew, James, and John — were fishermen; one was a tax 



42 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHKIST. 

gatherer — Matthew. The rest, without exception, were 
poor concerning this world's goods. All of them were 
aware that they must work in order to maintain them- 
selves. Not one of them lived in ease. None was an in- 
tellectual genius. All were humble, plain men. They pos- 
sessed plain habits, plain sense, and sound judgment. 
Was Jesus satisfied with the kind of men He chose? Evi- 
dently. But why did Jesus choose such common, every- 
day men? Would not rich, cultured, eminent men have 
been much better for such an enterprise for which the 
Twelve were chosen? In this case, not necessarily. We 
cannot suppose that our Lord was prejudiced against 
wealth, genius, culture, intellect, knowledge, and rank, 
and no one will, for a moment, suppose that Jesus pre- 
ferred taxgatherers to rabbis, or fishermen to mechanics. 
On the other hand, rich, cultured and eminent men are 
not always necessary to launch an enterprise successfully. 
Jesus chose these humble men because they were pious. 
God-fearing. They were men who believed in obedience 
to God's will as man's first duty. They were men who 
waited for the "Consolation of Israel," and therefore 
best fitted to be the pillars for the true Israel. They were 
men who could yield themselves, who could stoop and 
humble themselves before their Master as a disciple 
should act toward his master. Jesus certainly would have 
chosen cultured men, men of high social rank, and rulers, 
if they would have learned the lessons of humility. Jesus 
was just as much willing to have rulers and rabbis for 
His disciples as these men of low degree, for He was not 
inspired with such motives as men usually are. Many 
believe that success and victory in any cause depends on 
the support it receives of the higher classes. When our 



THE CHOSEN ONES. 43 

Lord Jesus chose the Twelve He took into recognition 
their fitness, ability, capabilities for the special work He 
had in view. Jesus chose none other simply because no 
one else was better fitted or capable for the great work 
of the future. Of course, like other men, they too, had 
their defects, their limitations ; they were ignorant on cer- 
tain points ; they also misconceived many things. "To err 
is human;" and they were human. Like other men, they 
acted stupidly on many occasions; they showed their 
folly, their faults of intellect, manner, speech, and be- 
havior. Like other men, they were sometimes prejudiced, 
they often used unsound judgment, and went to ex- 
tremes. Nevertheless for such a task to which they had 
been called — the establishment of the Kingdom of God — 
they were the best fitted, because they were all pious men. 
For such a holy task, their piety was the first and best 
qualification. No mistake had been made by Jesus in His 
choice. They were the very men needed. 

Upon this "glorious company of Apostles" (with the 
exception of Judas Iscariot), the Holy Christian Church 
was founded. The Apostles founded the Church. It was 
their creation. But they in turn were the creation of their 
Master. During their intercourse with Jesus they were 
transformed, in a very brief space of time, from the 
men they were when called, as to be able to convince the 
world that He was the promised Messiah of Israel ; that 
He in all truth was the Son of God and the Saviour of 
mankind, and that His Gospel was of a truth, the power 
of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. With- 
out this transformation, how was it possible that men 
destitute of all human aid, without riches or credit, with- 
out learning or eloquence could in so short a time, as they 



44 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

did, persuade men of all nations to abandon the religion 
of their ancestors? How could it have been possible that 
twelve Apostles, who as fishermen and publicans, must 
have been contemned by their own nation, and as Jews 
must have been odious to all other nations, could engage 
the learned and mighty men, as well as the simple and 
those of low degree, to forsake their favorite prejudices, 
and to embrace a new religion which was an enemy to 
their corrupt passion ? 



THE TRAINING OF THE APOSTLES. 45 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE TRAINING OF THE APOSTLES. 

SOME time after Jesus had ordained the twelve Apos- 
tles He sent them out on their first mission. It has 
been convenient to consider the mission of the Twelve in 
close connection with their selection and ordination. But 
from the Gospels we gather that between these two events 
other things took place. From the Evangelic record we 
also infer that Jesus did not intend to send out the Twelve 
immediately after He ordained them Apostles, but that 
He desired them to be with Him a while, that they might 
hear and see Him speak and do mighty works of God. 
For a time they were in the Christ's company witnessing 
His miraculous works, hearing His doctrine concerning 
the Kingdom and learning how to live and how to pray. 
During this period they were being educated and trained 
by their Master both for their first attempt at mission 
work and for their final work of converting the world 
after His departure from earth. We gain the impression 
that, from the call of the Twelve until our Lord's earthly 
Ministry neared its close, the Mission of our Lord was 
more a Mission to them than to His fellow-countrymen. 
He concentrated Himself increasingly upon the inner 
band of His followers. 1 Now that the choice had been 
made, Jesus devoted Himself to their instruction and 

1 Ewald comes nearer to the truth of the Evangelic narrative 
when he asserts that "the community of His friends during the last 
year and a half" was to Jesus, "the main object of His earthly 
labours." (The History of Israel, Vol. VI, p. 417). 



46 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

training. This course of instruction continued with very 
slight interruption from the calling of the Twelve until 
the Betrayal. The only interruption in their training, of 
which we possess any information, was caused by that 
misson on which the Twelve were sent a short time after 
their ordination. The Apostles were to accompany Jesus 
from place to place ; they were to be His companions con- 
tinually. 

In training and educating the Twelve they, of course, 
had to be with Him. They not only had to be with Him 
but with Him constantly. This alone would afford the 
best of all training and education. For this very reason 
the Twelve had been chosen to be with Him continually — 
chosen from the great multitude of disciples which could 
not conveniently follow Him everywhere and always, for 
they were not many. Only in this way a complete knowl- 
edge of Him could be gotten. By being constantly with 
Him the Twelve were learning lessons daily, though they 
were not aware that such was the case. They were ob- 
taining a more and more complete knowledge of Jesus, 
though they may at first not have known they were so 
doing. Gradually His words and instructions and influ- 
ence told on them. On their journeys from village to 
village with their Master they learned much. They made 
new acquaintances, they saw new scenes, they labored un- 
der different conditions at different places. When jour- 
neying from village to village there was plenty of time for 
instruction and explanation of words and works. There 
was plenty of time for thought, plenty of time to ponder 
on what was said to them and done to others. They were 
constantly being brought face to face in words and deeds 
with the great task of the Kingdom of God and its King. 



THE TRAINING OF THE APOSTLES. 47 

Soon they came to understand it all. The}' seemed to for- 
get everything else. They placed themselves on the high 
levels of divine life, with mind and spirit quickened and 
eyes drinking in with delight the inexpressible, the in- 
finite glories of His teachings and past work. And the 
more they, understood Him and His aim and purpose, the 
more they became Christ-like, the more they resembled 
Him in mind and spirit. 

During their sojourn with Jesus many lessons and 
truths had been taught them. Some of the most impor- 
tant lessons were those on the nature of the Kingdom 
which He came to establish, the members of that King- 
dom, the condition of entrance therein, the character of 
the members. These subjects were explained mainly in 
the Sermon on the Mount. Not less important were His 
discourses on the subject of the Messiah and the Com- 
forter Who was to be sent to them some time in the near 
future. The Fatherhood of God was always a favorite 
subject with Him and He never failed to expound to His 
Chosen Ones the great truth that God is the Father of 
all mankind and that all men are brothers. Other impor- 
tant lessons which the Twelve learned during their travels 
with Him were the lessons on prayer, the lessons on hu- 
mility, on cross-bearing, on religious liberty, both as re- 
gards fasting, observance of the Sabbath and ablutions — 
all of which were of great importance to them in their fu- 
ture career. Many of His teachings were illustrated by 
parables. 

The training and education of the Twelve was also 
materially helped by His miracles. At the outset of His 
career Jesus said in the presence of the Twelve to the 
disciples of John the Baptist. "Go and shew John again 



4S THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

those things which ye do hear and see; the blind receive 
their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor 
have the Gospel preached to them." 1 Not only was this 
a promise made by Jesus ; it was a reality. For they were 
eye-witnesses of the very things with which the disciples 
of John were instructed. Such mighty and wonderful 
works occupied a great deal of the Christ's time. All the 
Evangelists agree that Jesus went about from village to 
village healing every sickness and every disease among 
the people. 2 Woes were pronounced upon Chorazin, 
Bethsaida and Capernaum because of the failure of these 
villages to appreciate the mighty works that had been 
done there by Him. 3 The people had seen the mighty 
works performed there, but they failed to repent of their 
sins and put on sackcloth and sit in ashes. Of these 
mighty works the Apostles had been witnesses. They 
were sights w^ell worth seeing. They indeed were, as the 
Saviour pronounced them, "Blessed." "Blessed are the 
eyes which see the things that ye see." 4 

The continual presence of the Apostles with Jesus their 
Master implied necessarily the relinquishment of their 
secular employment, and consequently all income nec- 
essary for living. The fishermen could not always be with 
Him and still attend to their fishing boats and nets and be 
at the seaside or on the lake. The taxgatherer could not 
be sitting at the custom gate taking in the revenue and 
yet follow Him. It was impossible for them to be Apos- 
tles of Jesus and still continue at their occupation. All 
secular occupation must be set aside. All wages and 

1 Matt. ii : 4-5. »Luke 10: 12-15. 

5 Matt'. 9:35. . 4 Luke 10 23. 



THE TEAIXIXG OF THE APOSTLES. 49 

money matters must be a secondary question in their fu- 
ture work. Yet they must live. How were their daily 
wants supplied when each and every Apostle made this 
sacrifice? In those days, as in ours, every article had a 
fixed price. Would they be trusted when purchasing food 
or clothing until some other time ? Would the merchants 
trust them when they had no means of making a living? 
The Apostolic body formed, so to speak, a single house- 
hold. It was quite a large family, consisting of thirteen 
members. Of this family Jesus Himself was the Head. 
He was the "Father" of the "little ones," "the Shepherd 
of the sheep," "the guide on their travels." He was the 
Head of the family, giving rules as to their mode of liv- 
ing, giving directions as to all their movements, and pre- 
siding at the common meals. The expenditures for this 
large family were not very large, for Jesus was an eco- 
nomical Father. And yet all were met. Jesus and His 
household owed no man anything. Jesus would not have 
it. We find at the same time that among the Twelve a 
common treasury was maintained. Of this Judas Iscariot 
was the treasurer. 1 But whence came the money found in 
the treasury to meet the daily expenses? Their supplies 
were doubtless drawn from various sources. Possibly 
some of the Apostles had a little property before they 
were called. This they might have sold when they re- 
ceived their call. Yet the value would not have been very 
great. This would soon be spent in a company consisting 
of thirteen persons. Still the proceeds of such property, 
however small, when contributed to the common treasury 
would help to defray some expenses of each day. It can 
be said with almost absolute certainty that there were 
^ohn 13: 29. 



^0 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

kindly disposed people who made presents to Jesus and 
the Twelve at different times. He still had some kind 
neighbors and grateful friends who were well-affected 
toward Him. But above all, the chief source of income 
was evidently the generosity of several opulent women. 
These women accompanied Him on several of His jour- 
neys, and probably in this manner they became familiar 
with His daily wants and the amount of money needed. 
They therefore placed their means and services at the 
command of our Lord. St. Luke makes it clear that the 
number of such benevolent women 'was not small. With 
Him and the Twelve were "certain women, which had 
been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called 
Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, 
the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and 
many others, which ministered unto him of their sub- 
stance." 1 This being the case, the Apostles were enabled 
to direct their attention untroubled to the work entrusted 
to them. The generosity of the women, no doubt, was 
the cause not only that the company of the Apostles could 
meet their own wants but also the cause of that abundancy 
which enabled them to give to the poor and needy. 2 

From this state of affairs Jesus, however, intended to 
teach His Apostles their first lesson — that of absolute re- 
liance and dependence on Himself for everything. Trust 
in their heavenly Father, trust in Himself was the su- 
preme and even the sole lesson which He tried to have 
them master. By living a life of dependency on the lib- 
erality and generosity of others they could be most effect- 
ively taught to undervalue the worth of all earthly pos- 
sessions. At the same time the Twelve were learning to 
1 Luke 8: 2-3. 'John 13: 29. 



THE TRAINING OF THE APOSTLES. 51 

lead a simple life. At first they may have been a little 
surprised at Him when they noticed that He continued 
to dress like the rest of men, to eat and drink as they did. 
They at first thought it strange that Jesus mingled freely 
with men and constantly invited them to come unto Him. 
John the Baptist, their former master, had done differ- 
ently. He lived a solitary life, the life of a hermit. His 
religious life, too, must have been a surprise to them. 
Contrary to custom of the time, Jesus approached His 
Father at all hours of the day. He prayed as He was 
moved to pra)^. There were no fixed hours of prayer for 
Him. He had no religious rules by which He guided His 
life. But soon their surprise and astonishment were re- 
moved. They soon opened their eyes and came to per- 
ceive that His life was after all quite different from the 
rest of men. They soon found out how simple He lived. 
They soon perceived, even as we do today, that the life 
spent by their Master was the typical life of men, for the 
glory of His life lay in its simplicity. This simple life 
they learned from Him and soon they became aware that 
the Kingdom of God was not to come with observation, 
not with outward performances and circumstances but 
that it comes in all simplicity. 

His task of educating or transforming, so to speak, 
the Twelve from the men they had been into the men 
they eventually became was the first and one of the great- 
est achievements of our Lord after their call. It must be 
remembered they were to be eye and ear witnesses of the 
Master. In training them for such Jesus showed as no 
master ever before or after insight, patience, tolerance, 
charity, and sympathy. The time was not far hence when 
the Apostles themselves were to put into practice all that 



52 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

had been taught them. Soon their Master would leave 
them, and they must continue the great work of the King- 
dom of God by teaching the world the fundamental prin- 
ciples of that Kingdom, and by their teachings they were 
to make disciples and converts to the King, who in all 
power and honor and glory rules over the Kingdom. 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 53 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE FIRST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 

THE time had come when the Twelve were put under 
a test by their Master for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing whether they were now qualified for the great work 
for which He had selected them. After the Twelve had 
been some time with our Lord they were sent forth on a 
missionary tour. In this test Jesus sought to train them 
for their future career, and the test was so well endured 
that there was no need of repetition. But there was an- 
other design in the mission of the Twelve. It was an act 
of service to those to whom they were sent. They were 
to meet the spiritual necessities of the people. Jesus had 
long observed that the nation's spiritual condition was 
neglected. This proved a heavy burden on the heart of 
Jesus. He had, as we know, been sent to the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel; and lost sheep the Israelites indeed 
were. A person who was a prophet and sent from God 
with a special purpose and message had no difficulty in 
soon finding this out. In His world-wide bearing as the 
Son of Man, Jesus had during His journeys taken no- 
tice how the sheep of the house of Israel were straying, 
scattered, and that there was no shepherd to care for the 
flock. Jesus, however, wished to be to them a Shepherd, 
and a good Shepherd. He wished to restore order among 
the flock. Many were ready to receive Him as such, but 
because the demands were so great it was difficult for 
Him to meet them. It was as Jesus Himself had declared, 



54 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

"The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are 
few." x His profound sympathy for the condition of the 
people of Galilee was the most prominent reason which 
influenced our Lord in dispatching the Twelve on this 
missionary enterprise. It was impossible for Him to 
evangelize His native province singlehanded, to say noth- 
ing of the entire Holy Land. Others must, therefore, 
share His labors. The Twelve, of course, were the most 
capable, for this was one of the ends for which the Twelve 
had been selected and for which they had been trained. 

The accounts of the first missionary enterprise under- 
taken by the Twelve at the command of their Lord are 
recorded in the Synoptical Gospels. 2 From a close sur- 
vey of these records we find many questions arising in 
our minds in connection with this mission itinerary which, 
however, are not answered in the Gospel narratives. 
Questions of such a nature are : At what time did the 
first mission take place; from what town did they start, 
or was the command given; how long did the mission 
last? 

With regard to the first question, we have seen 3 that 
the Twelve were first sent out on their mission sometime 
after their selection and ordination; that between these 
two events, their selection and first commission, other 
things took place. We also noticed that Jesus did not in- 
tend to send out the Twelve immediately after He or- 
dained them Apostles, but that He desired to have them 
with Him a while that they might hear and see Him 
speak and do mighty works of God. The second question 
must receive an indefinite answer. The place from which 

J Matt. 9: 37. *Matt. 10: 5-42; Mark 6 : 7-13; Luke 9 :i-io. 
'Chapter VI. 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 55 

Jesus sent out the Twelve was Galilee, and it must have 
been in one of the Galilean towns where they received 
their first commission. Most likely it was in some town 
along the shore of the Galilean Sea — probably Caper- 
naum. These are only conjectures, so that it would be 
best to name no town at all. With regard to the third 
question, the answer of critics differ. Some claim that 
the interval occupied by the mission lasted only a single 
day. Others assert that it lasted not more than a few 
days, others at least a week, some several weeks, and oth- 
ers again several months. We may say with confidence 
that the mission itinerary did last some weeks at least. 

Though nothing is said on these subjects by the Evan- 
gelists, they do give us quite an extensive account of the 
most important features concerning the mission. A com- 
parison of the three records will reveal four facts in con- 
nection with this mission — the locality of operation ; their 
duty in their work; the instruction received before leav- 
ing; their success and account of the mission. These four 
parts of their mission are well worthy of observation. 

i. The place of their evangelistic work was limited. 
It was defined by Jesus in His characteristic remark at 
the very beginning of their commission by these words, 
"Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of 
the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel." x Their work was not cath- 
olic; it was ethnic. The commission involved a tour of all 
the cities of Israel. They were expressly forbidden to go 
beyond the limits of Israel. Like their Master, so they at 
first were to confine their work to the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel. The Twelve were not yet fit to preach 
1 Matt. 10: 5-6. 



56 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

the Gospel and perform mighty works among those who 
were classed as Gentiles, nor yet among the Samaritans. 
We know that Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel, but as the Son of Man He would also in 
time receive Gentiles and Samaritans on equal terms with 
the Jews. The hour would come when the Son of Man 
would be glorified by the accession of the Gentiles into 
the Church. Only after He was rejected by the very peo- 
ple for which He had labored was He consoled by the 
inspiring assurance that He should be believed on and 
accepted by all the outlying nations, and be received by 
all the world as the only Saviour and Lord. The hour, 
however, was not yet come. When it was come, it was 
time enough for Jesus to say to His Apostles, "Go ye 
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
ture." 1 At this time the Twelve were not yet fitted to 
evangelize the whole world. That, indeed, was the ulti- 
mate end of their selection, but they must first pass 
through their trial mission, so that it could be seen how 
successful they would be in their future work. They still 
needed more and more instructions. Only when the Lord 
was received into Heaven were they to go into all the 
world. 

Because of the urgency of the case their efforts were 
directed toward the lost sheep of Israel. Their efforts 
were probably intended to be restricted to the houses and 
homes of the people. No reference in the instruction 
given by Jesus is made for them to appear in the Jewish 
synagogues or in the market-places. The experience did 
not permit them then to give discourses or lectures, or to 
preach sermons in public places. 
l Mark 16: 15. 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 57 

2. Their duty on this itinerary was twofold. It con- 
sisted in preaching and working miracles. The subject 
of their sermon was very limited; the power of working 
miracles was unlimited. The message which they were 
to proclaim corresponded with their own comparative 
immaturity on the one hand, and with the spiritual state 
of their audiences on the other. 

The subject of their sermon was, as indicated in the 
words of Jesus, "As ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand." 1 There was nothing else for the 
Apostles to preach. Not philosophy, not science, not lit- 
erature, not ethical, or economical, or sociological the- 
ories were they to expound, but simply and plainly, "The 
Kingdom of Heaven." The Kingdom of Heaven was all 
that they were instructed to preach. To have declared the 
Messiahship of Jesus would have led to misunderstand- 
ings, perhaps revolts, and have hindered rather than fur- 
thered the expansion of the Kingdom; hence they were 
confined to the assertions, so full of hope and promise, 
that the "Kingdom of Heaven" was at hand. 

As regards the second part of the duty, they were to 
bestow miraculous powers, with which they had been en- 
dowed, as freely as they had received it. As envoys 
of Jesus, they were endowed with miraculous powers to 
assist them in discharging their mission. They were en- 
abled to cure diseases and to expel demons. "Heal the 
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils ; 
freely ye have received, freely give." 2 These powers they 
were to exercise gratuitously. These two duties were to 
be discharged together. The Kingdom of Heaven was at 
hand. It brings deliverance from all diseases and mal- 
■Matt. 10: 7. a Matt. 10: S. 



5S THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

adies, both temporal and spiritual. These deliverances 
were to be exercised liberally. This liberality was in- 
tended by Jesus to be an evidence of the nature of the 
Kingdom, of which they announced the near approach. 
It was to be as the King Himself, a Kingdom of mercy, 
compassion, sympathy and tenderness. Besides serving 
to show the nature of the King and His Kingdom, these 
endowments were also a demonstration of the truth of 
their message. 

3. As the duty of the Apostle on this first missionary 
tour was twofold, so also was the instruction given them 
by Jesus. The first part of the instruction related main- 
ly to the present mission work ; the second mainly to the 
future. The former had more reference to their be- 
havior toward others ; the latter to their treatment by oth- 
ers. In the former they are told what to do on their pres- 
ent and first mission ; in the latter what they must do and 
bear when they become Apostles to all the world, preach- 
ing the Gospels to Gentiles and Samaritans, as well as to 
the Jews. The keynote of the first part of the instruction 
was: Care not (provide not); that of the second, Fear 
not. 

The Apostles were enjoined to make no provision for 
the mission on which they were about to enter. "Provide 
neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor 
scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, 
nor yet staves." 1 They were to start on their journey 
just as they were. They were not to trouble themselves 
for the morrow. They were to rely on the Providence of 
God and on the hospitality of the people which they were 
to seek. "Into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, en- 
2 Matt. 10: 9-10. 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 59 

quire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go 
thence." 1 He meant to encourage the Twelve by saying, 
"In every town or village which ye shall enter, ye shall 
surely find someone who will be favorably disposed 
toward you and give you food and shelter." Every 
wicked city has some righteous people dwelling in it. And 
if not many, to say at least ten, yet there will be found 
one righteous person, as in the case of Lot in wicked 
Sodom, with a warm heart who will gladly receive the 
messengers of the Kingdom of Heaven and provide a 
table of food and a place of rest. Upon entering such a 
village or house of hospitality, the instruction for their 
behavior as given by Jesus was : "And when ye come 
into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let 
your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your 
peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive 
you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that 
house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily. I 
say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of 
Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for 
that city." 2 On their journey they would meet ungrate- 
ful, inhospitable, careless people, who would reject them 
and their message. But some would receive them and 
their message, Jesus intimated. Blessed are they! They 
would be receiving more than the Apostles and their mes- 
sage. "He that receiveth you," were the final words of 
Jesus in the instruction given, however, more as an en- 
couragement, "receiveth me, and he that receiveth me, re- 
ceiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in 
the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; 
and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a 
'Matt. 10: ii. 2 Matt. 10 : 12- is. 



60 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little 
ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, 
verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his re- 
ward." 1 

The second part of their instruction — their treatment 
by the men of the world — referred more to the future 
times, when they were to carry on a mission on a larger 
scale after His Ascension rather than to the present occa- 
sion. This second part of the instruction consisted again 
of two parts — one was a caution and the other an admoni- 
tion. The caution consisted of these words, "Behold, I 
send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves ; be ye 
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But 
beware of men." 2 There is the caution. "For they shall 
deliver you up to the councils, and they shall scourge j^ou 
in the synagogues; and ye shall be brought before gov- 
ernors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against 
them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, 
take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall 
be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For 
it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father 
which speaketh in you." 3 As if this were not enough, 
Jesus added with appalling vividness, "Think not that I 
am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send 
peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at va- 
riance against his father, and the daughter against her 
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in- 
law. And a man's foe shall be they of his own house- 
hold." 4 The family relation will be strained. "The 

^Matt. 10: 40-42. s Matt. 10: 17-20. 

'Matt. 10: 16-17. 4 Matt. 10: 34"3 6 - 



THE FIEST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 61 

brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the fa- 
ther the child ; and the children shall rise up against their 
parents. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's 
sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 
When they persecute you in this city flee ye into an- 
other." 1 

Their admonition consisted of these words, "Fear them 
not; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be re- 
vealed; and hid, that shall not be known." 2 "Fear not 
them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; 
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul 
and body in hell." 3 Fear should not overtake them when 
persecuted. In such dreadful days, they should shake the 
dust off of their feet and escape to the next village, Jesus 
meant to say, "For what I tell you in darkness, that 
speak ye in light ; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach 
ye upon the housetops." 4 

Such was the instruction given by Jesus to the first 
missionaries, and these instructions still hold good today. 
What Jesus had said concerning their reception and 
treatment has been filled to the very letter in our own age 
as well as the Apostolic. 

4. The Twelve went forth under the conditions which 
Jesus prescribed. They went forth two by two, as di- 
rected by their Master, making six different companies 
and missions. The wisdom of this arrangement is easily 
understood. It was their Lord's object as well as theirs 
to come into contact with as many of the people as pos- 
sible. The laborers indeed were few, only twelve, the 
harvest was plenteous and ripe. But even if such was 

Uvlatt. 10: 21-23. 3 Matt. 10: 28. 

2 Matt. 10: 26. *Matt. 10: 27. 



02 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

the state of affairs concerning harvest and laborers, it 
was not less important that they should be encouraged 
and strengthened by one another's presence. There can 
be no doubt that if each of the Twelve had acted alone 
he would have felt discouraged and possibly gloomy, and 
often been at a loss how to act. They strictly followed 
the command they received, passing through the villages 
preaching repentence and the Gospel, and using freely 
the power to heal, with which they were intrusted. "And 
they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many 
that were sick, and healed them." 1 

How many people were in their audience, how many 
repented, and received them as divine messengers, how 
many were cured by their miraculous power in the name 
of Jesus does not appear. Their result, however, was so 
great that the impression produced by the labors of the 
Twelve seems to have been very considerable. Great 
crowds came to them. When they returned they told 
our Lord what they had done and taught. We are not 
informed whether the Apostles were elated over their re- 
sults, whether they felt grateful, whether their success 
startled them. Their thoughts, their feelings, and con- 
clusions which they had formed are not recorded. Yet 
we are safe to say that this first attempt at mission work 
made them profitable and useful servants in the vineyard 
of God. They profited at least in two things by this 
first attempt. From the instruction they received they 
learned a lesson on confidence in the wisdom and power of 
their Master. But besides this they were taught how to 
apply the truths they had learned and how to use the pow- 
er with which they were intrusted. 
x Mark 6 : 13. 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 63 

Thus were the Twelve being prepared and tested for 
their future work. After the Lord's Ascension, the lim- 
its of their missionary work was to be extended to the 
ends of the earth. They were to begin at Jerusalem and 
go throughout all Judaea and in Samaria and unto the 
uttermost parts of the earth. 1 Not until the Lord had 
ascended was their training and education for the Apos- 
tleship complete, and not until then were they Apostles 
indeed. 

x Acts i : 8 



THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ST. ANDREW. 

CHRONOLOGICALLY Andrew 1 is the first Apos- 
tle of Jesus the Christ of whom mention is made 
in the New Testament. Few references are made of him 
in the Gospel narrative. He was the brother of the fa- 
mous Simon Peter, of whom we know so much, and 
accordingly, he was the son of Jona. 2 He was a native 
of Bethsaida, of Galilee, 3 on the coast of the Lake of 
Genessaret, but his later residence as he comes before us 
in the Gospels was Capernaum, 4 of Galilee, where he 
shared the same house with his brother, and where he and 
his brother were partners in the fishing trade. Caper- 
naum was situated on the thickly populated shore of the 
Lake of Gennesaret, where trade brought together repre- 
sentatives of many nationalities, and where Greek must 
have been to some extent a medium of communication and 
business, for Greek was the language that was univer- 
sally used. Perhaps because of this fact Andrew may 
have acquired his Greek name. 5 

Originally Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. 6 
The Baptist proved to be a splendid teacher and guide. 
He was just such a man as was needed for his special 
kind of work. He had been sent to prepare the way of 

1 Greek, Andreas; Lat., S. Andreas; Ger., Der heilig Andreas ; 
Ital., SanC Andrea; French, St. Andre". 

2 John i: 42. 5 Greek, Andreas. 

3 John 1 : 44. 6 John 1 : 35, 40. 
* Mark 1 : 21, 29. 



ST. ANDREW. 66 

the Christ. This he did by showing the multitude that 
came out to hear him their sinfulness, by directing them to 
forsake their former evil ways, and by calling them to 
repent. In this way some of those who heard him re- 
mained with him as his disciples. One of these was An- 
drew. For a time Andrew left his old trade, having been 
attracted into the wilderness to the side of the Baptist by 
all that he had heard of John. But the hermit also proved 
to be a splendid master for his disciples by pointing out 
to them the Lamb of God. John was standing one day 
with two of his disciples and, looking upon Jesus as He 
walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two 
disciples heard him speak, and they followed Him. One 
of the two who heard John speak and followed Him was 
Andrew. Jesus turned and saw them following and saith 
unto them, "What seek ye?" They said unto Him, 
"Rabbi, where dwellest thou?" He saith unto them, 
"Come and see." They came and saw where He dwelt, 
and abode with Him that day ; for it was about the tenth 
hour. 1 

It was early in the day, about ten o'clock. What passed 
between the Master and these two disciples when they 
came to the dwelling place of the Christ we do not know. 
But it seems from the narrative that they must have been 
instructed further in those things of which the Baptist 
had made a beginning. They must have fully realized 
that the promised Deliverer, the Lamb of God which 
was to take away the sins of the world, was He Who was 
speaking to them. Andrew, full of joy in finding the 
Christ, went out and "findeth first his own brother Simon, 
and saith unto him. we have found the Messiah, which 
^ohn i : 35-40. 
5 



66 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to 
Jesus." x Thus to Andrew was given the joy of bring- 
ing next his own brother to the Lord. He was eager, as 
on another occasion, 2 to share with others the privilege 
he himself enjoyed. He was not selfish; but having found 
a treasure wished to divide it with others. It is probable 
that Andrew may have had something to do also with 
the call of Philip, as his call follows immediately after 
that of Peter. And then Andrew and Philip are both 
Greek names, both were born in the same town, and it 
seems as if they were comrades, for in most incidents re- 
corded in the Gospels their names stand together. 

As yet Andrew's acquaintance with Jesus implied noth- 
ing more than a personal relationship to Him. But soon 
the call for actual work came. Andrew was one of the 
first called of the disciples of Jesus. His call to follow 
Jesus took place at the Sea of Galilee, while he was en- 
gaged in his old occupation of fishing. Jesus bade An- 
drew and his brother, who was with him, to leave their 
nets and come with Him. 3 At the time of his call he 
was dwelling at Capernaum, which was near the sea, for 
we are informed that at one time, when Jesus was in Ca- 
pernaum, after teaching in the synagogue, "he entered 
into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and 
John." 4 This occurred directly after his call. Finally 
Andrew was chosen by Jesus from among His large fol- 
lowing to the apostolic roll. 5 As an Apostle he occupied 
a place of honor, for his name is always found in the 
first group of four into which the Twelve have been di- 

ijohn i : 41-42. 3 Matt. 4: 18. 

2 John 12: 20-22. 4 Mark 1 : 29. 

s Matt. 10: 2, Mark 3 : 13-18; Luke 6 : 13-14. 



ST. ANDREW. 67 

vided, and it is with Peter, James and John, the three 
other members of the first group, that he is associated 
near the close of our Lord's life, when they put to Him 
the private question concerning the time of the Last 
Things, i 

If it were not for St. John's Gospel we would have no 
idea whatever of the manner of man Andrew was and 
of the service which he rendered in the Kingdom of 
Christ. In the synoptical Gospels no incidents are re- 
corded in the life of the Apostle other than his call. The 
references in St. John's Gospel are of such a nature as to 
leave a wonderfully clear impression on our mind of the 
kind of man he was. In these references he is always 
associated with Philip. The first time that Andrew ap- 
pears on the stage of the Gospel narrative as an Apostle 
was in connection with the Feeding of the Five-thousand 
in the wilderness. When Jesus beheld the great multitude 
before Him, He asked Philip, "Whence shall we buy 
bread, that these may eat? Philip answered him, two 
hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, 
that every one of them may take a little. One of His 
disciples, Andrew, saith unto him, There is a lad here 
which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes; but 
what are they among so many?" Andrew had already 
ascertained how much provision could be gotten on the 
spot. He thought it worth while to draw the Master's 
attention to the lad's little store of five loaves and two 
fishes, even though he too was at a loss as to what it 
could effect, in contrast to the anxious calculating Philip, 

J Mark 13: 3. 2 John 6 : 5-9, 



6S THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHKIST. 

who had multiplied and multiplied until he had figured 
out about how much was needed. 

During the week of his Lord's Passion we again find 
Andrew and Philip together — this time in connection 
with men who bore Greek names, as the two Apostles did. 
It was the evening of a long and weary day of teaching 
and preaching and working of miracles. As the sun was 
beginning to set in the west, and Jesus was still standing 
in the temple porch, certain Greeks who had come to wor- 
ship at the feast at Jerusalem were somewhat surprised at 
His teaching. They were stirred in their souls at what 
Jesus said. They felt that what Jesus had said was meant 
for them. Desiring to hear more from Him, and hear 
Him speak words of Eternal Life, they "desired Philip 
of Bethsaida, saying, we would see Jesus." x We must 
remember that it was His last week before His death, 
and Jesus was much engaged in public work, so that it 
was hard to get at Him. These Greeks therefore came 
to Philip with their request. We do not know why they 
came to Philip. Was it his family connection or his edu- 
cation or previous circumstances that led them to seek 
out Philip? Indeed, the name Philip is Greek, and this 
implies the probability that the disciple who bore it had 
Greek connection, and the possibility of a previous ac- 
quaintance between him and the inquiring Greeks. 

Philip, however, does not carry the request of the 
Greeks direct to Jesus. He first goes to Andrew — the 
other Apostle with a Greek name — his fellow-townsman 
and fellow-Apostle, and lays the matter before him to 
see what he thinks about it. Philip consults him what 

1 John 12 : 21-22. 



ST. ANDREW. 69 

was to be done, whether he thought the motion would 
be acceptable or not, because he remembered that Jesus 
had often said that He "was not sent but to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel." They, however, agreed it must 
be made; but then he would have Andrew go with him, 
remembering the favorable acceptance Christ had prom- 
ised them in case two of them should agree touching 
anything they should ask. 1 The two felt that they might 
at least mention the matter to Jesus and then let Him 
grant their wish if He so desired. The result of this pri- 
vate discussion was that the two Apostles came to the 
Master, Andrew, apparently, foremost, and conveyed the 
request of the Greeks to Him. 

A day or two after this meeting of the Greeks with 
Andrew, we find him for the last time as playing an im- 
portant part as one of the Twelve. Jesus had just left 
the beautiful Temple at Jerusalem, when one of His 
disciples said unto Him, "Master, see what manner of 
stones and what buildings are here!" Jesus, answering, 
said unto them, "Seest thou these great buildings ? There 
shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be 
thrown down." As Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives 
over against the Temple, Andrew, together with Peter, 
James and John, puts the question to Jesus, "Tell us 
when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign 
when all these things shall be fulfilled?" 2 

The significant phrase of Andrew "we have seen the 
Messiah," and the readiness of Peter to come to Jesus, 
suggests that both brothers had felt the spell of the 
Messianic hope. In their early days the brothers must 
have gained a close knowledge of the Old Testament. 

: Matt. 18: 19. 'Mark 13: 1-4. 



70 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

Both being disciples of the Baptist, no doubt they were 
instructed about the Messiah. John had frequently spoken 
of the Christ Who was to come after him; he had called 
Him the "Lamb of God." When, accordingly, the Christ 
did come, it was to find Andrew with a heart ready and 
eager to welcome Him. 

Few, if any, of the disciples possessed such a simple 
nature as Andrew. He was like the average Galilean of . 
his day. Kindhearted, he was willing to share his good 
possessions with others. That which was not worth while 
sharing he kept for himself, but the good he unhesitating- 
ly shared. His immediate search for Peter after having 
found the Christ, and his treatment of the Greeks as 
soon as Philip approached him with their request, speaks 
for this. And from his behavior on these two occasions 
we gather that Andrew was not only the first ''Home 
Missionary" — bringing Peter to Christ — but also the first 
"Foreign Missionary" — bringing Greeks or Gentiles to 
the Lord — thus being in the true sense of the word a "la- 
borer in the vineyard," a "minister of Christ," and an 
"Apostle of the Lord Jesus." 

Although very few accounts are given of Andrew in 
the Gospels, yet tradition has been busy with him after 
history. According to one tradition, Andrew and John 
in their old age are brought together. It was at this time 
that John is said to have written his Gospel. His fellow- 
disciples and bishops urged him to write the history of 
the Lord. John and Andrew entered an agreement, in 
which John is represented as saying, "fast with me from 
today, for three days, and let us tell one another any 
revelation which may be made to us, either for or against 



ST. ANDREW. 71 

the plan of writing." That very night Andrew had a 
revelation that John should relate all in his own name, 
and that all should review his writing. 

His name is associated with many countries. Accord- 
ingly, he traveled into Scythia, Cappadocia and Bitlvynia, 
where he converted multitudes by his preaching. In 
Russia he had been adopted as the patron saint, having, 
according to Russian belief, preached to the Muscovites 
in Sarmatia. Later he visited Thrace, Macedonia and 
Achaia. In Patrae, a city of Achaia, he converted, among 
many others, the pro-consul's wife, named Maximilla. By 
his preaching he also persuaded her to make a public con- 
fession, and to leave her husband. Aegeas, the pro- 
consul, became so enraged that he condemned St. Andrew 
to be scourged and crucified. Instead of being nailed to a 
cross, it is said, he was fastened with cords in order to 
prolong his suffering. Upon approaching his cross he ven- 
erated it as having been sanctified by his Lord and Mas- 
ter. Opinions have differed as to the form of the cross 
on which he suffered. The cross called by his name is 
generally believed to be like that on which he suffered. 
There is, however, no warrant for the belief that the cross 
was of the decussate or saltire shape (X). This cross, 
usually associated with his name, is of a much later date. 
His cross, or at least part of it, is said to be in St. Peter's 
at Rome, enclosed in one of the four great piers of the 
dome. His festival is celebrated on November 30 in 
Latin and Greek Churches because he is said to have died 
on that date in the year seventy. All these traditions of 
Andrew may be regarded as worthless. 

In the fourth century, it is said, a part of the relics of 
St. Andrew, his arm. was taken to Scotland bv St. Resr- 



72 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

ulus to the town on the east coast that now bears his 
name. Ever since that time he has been the patron saint 
of Scotland and of its first order of knighthood. He is 
also the patron of the Order of the Golden Fleece of Bur- 
gundy, as well as of Russia, and of its great Order of the 
Cross of St. Andrew. 



ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 



CHAPTER IX. 
ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 

IN nearly all ages Bartholomew x has been identified 
with Nathanael 2 of the Fourth Gospel. This iden- 
tification is based on several strong arguments. The first 
argument in favor of the identification is that otherwise 
Nathanael would be the only disciple mentioned in the 
opening chapter of St. John's Gospel who did not become 
an Apostle; and none was so highly commended there as 
Nathanael. Secondly, Nathanael is never mentioned by the 
first three Evangelists, nor Bartholomew by the fourth. 
Thirdly, some of the other Apostles had two names- 
Simon Peter. Lebbaeus Thaddaeus, Matthew Levi — so 
Bartholomew might have been known by two names. 
Fourthly, in the lists of the synoptical Gospels where the' 
call and ordination of the Twelve are given. Bartholomew 
is coupled with the name Philip, who. according to St. 
John's statement, was instrumental in bringing Na- 
thanael to Jesus. Lastly, all the companions of Nathanael 

1 Greek, Bartholomaios. 
Latin, S. Bartholomeus. 
German, Bartholomaeus. 
Ital. S. Bartholomeo. 
French, Barthelemi. 

2 Heb. Ne'than'el. 

Greek, Nathanael God has given. Similarly, Theodore, 
Dositheus, Dorotheus. We can easily understand from the first 
chapter of St. John's Gospel how he would delight to use the name 
Nathanael, because of his fondness for symbolism, instead of the 
patronymic, Bartholomew. 



74 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

mentioned in the Fourth Gospel who, after the Res- 
urrection, went with Peter on a fishing trip, are called 
Apostles. 1 

All these arguments do not make the identification 
more than probable. But from these arguments it is quite 
likely that Bartholomew was a distinguishing name, added 
to Nathanael. The name Bartholomew, as the first syllable 
indicates, is a patronymic, 2 used in addition to the proper 
name Nathanael. In the Gospel history we have a sim- 
ilar incident. The best known of all the Apostles was 
called Simon Bar-jona (Simon the Son of Jona). The 
name may also have become an independent proper name, 
like Barnabas, Bartimaeus or Barsabas. Assuming that 
Nathanael and Bartholomew were one and the same Apos- 
tle, we may call the second one on the apostolic roll Na- 
thanael Bartholomew. 

Nathanael, the son of Tolmai, was a native of Cana, 
in Galilee, 3 the place where Jesus performed his first re- 
corded miracle. He was brought to Jesus by Philip, who 
himself had been called by Jesus. Philip also was a native 
of Galilee, his birthplace having been Bethsaida. Philip 
and Nathanael, therefore, were neighbors and evidently 
friends. Undoubtedly, Nathanael was a disciple of the 
Baptist, and at the time when he was found by Philip and 
brought to Jesus, he was returning from the preaching- 
station of the Baptist. Probably he may also have been 

1 Nathanael has also been identified with (i) the Apostle John 
himself under a symbolical name ; (2) with Matthew, the son of 
Alphaeus ; (3) with Matthias, the substitute Apostle; (4) with 
Simon the Cananaean. All these conjectures, however, have no 
reasonable evidence. 

2 Bartholomaios from Heb. Bar, son ; Tolmai ; Son of Tolmai. 

3 John 21 : 2. 



ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 75 

baptized by the Baptist. After Philip had been called by 
Jesus, he, like Andrew, went out to make Him known to 
others. He met Nathanael and informed him that "He 
of whom Moses wrote in the law and prophets, we have 
found, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph." At first 
Nathanael hesitated and asked, "Can there any good 
thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said, "Come and 
see," thereby inducing him to come into our Master's 
presence. Before Philip could give him an introduction 
to Jesus, the Master said in his hearing, however, not to 
him, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no 
guile." x 

To Nathanael Bartholomew this was a strange dec- 
laration and Jesus a still more strange Man. He was a 
stranger to him, whence did He know him? Nathanael, 
therefore, asked Jesus, "Whence knowest thou me?" 
Jesus answered and said unto him, "Before that Philip 
called thee when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." 
Nathanael answered and said, "Rabbi, thou art the Son 
of God; thou art the King of Israel," to which Jesus re- 
plied, "Because I said I saw thee under the fig tree, be- 
lievest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 
Verily, verily, I say unto you, henceforth ye shall see 
heaven open and the angels of God ascending and de- 
scending upon the Son of Man." 2 

Jesus' opinion of Nathanael was that of "an Israelite 
indeed in whom there is no guile." Nathanael as "an 
Israelite" suggests a person who prized very highly all 
his spiritual blessings and privileges, and who strove to 
live the ideal life of a descendant of Jacob to whom great 
promises of spiritual blessings were made. As a "guileless" 

■John i : 45-47- 2 John i : 48-51. 



76 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Israelite he represents a person of a sincere and candid 
spirit. It does not exclude sinfulness but implies a per- 
son who is openminded and singlehearted ; not double- 
minded, not possessed of impure motive or pride or un- 
holy passion. The term implies the idea of one whose 
heart is pure. As a "guileless Israelite" he stands in con- 
trast to Jacob. He is free from the guile of Jacob, the 
"supplanter." In him the guile of Jacob has given place 
to the righteousness and holiness which wins the victory 
with God. 

That Nathanael was a guileless, candid and sincere man 
is proved by the fact that, though he was not entirely free 
from prejudices, he was willing to have them removed. 
When Philip told him that he had found the Messiah in 
the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, he asked incredulously, 
"Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" He 
was reluctant to accept Nazareth, an insignificant town of 
Galilee, mentioned by no prophet as the place where the 
expected Messiah would come forth. But he was willing 
to have his prejudices removed. He at once accepted 
Philip's proposal to "come and see." This is the best 
answer to anything like prejudice. Nathanael came and 
saw. He did not allow himself to be deterred from com- 
ing to Jesus through his natural reluctance. The fact 
that Nathanael at once surrendered his prejudices when 
he received from the Christ adequate evidence of His 
supernatural power, proves that he was "guileless" and 
possessed candor and sincerity. 

Nathanael, no doubt, overheard these words of praise 
by Jesus. His reply, "Whence knowest thou me?" has 
been criticized as if he lacked modesty. At first sight the 
question might be interpreted as meaning, "I know that 



ST. BAETHOLOMEW. 77 

I am all you say I am, but how do you know it ?" A per- 
son who was a "guileless Israelite" as described by Jesus, 
openminded and sincere, would not give expression to 
such a thought. His reply would rather indicate that he 
exhibits surprise that a total stranger such as Jesus was 
would, upon first sight, express such an opinion about 
him. The reply also indicates the value of praise, which 
can hardly be based upon experience. It is similar to the 
reply of Mary to the angel, "How shall this be?" 1 It does 
not ask so much for proof as it expresses astonishment. 
And yet proof was given him. He assured Nathanael 
that He could read his character, for He shows that He 
knows all about his private conduct — "Before that Philip 
called thee when thou wast under the fig tree I saw thee." 

This statement shows that Nathanael was a man who 
was in the habit of conducting private spiritual exercises, 
a man of gentle meditative spirit. He had been engaged 
in a devotional service under a fig tree just before he was 
called by Philip. Through his spiritual exercises, Na- 
thanael must have arrived to a knowledge of a higher 
ideal of life and to a devout longing for the coming of the 
Messiah and His Kingdom. Now, when Jesus made this 
declaration concerning his private conduct, Nathanael 
perceived that He had not only seen him but that He must 
be the "King of Israel." Nathanael appears to have un- 
derstood the words of Jesus as meaning, "Before you 
came into my presence, while you were yet under the fig 
tree, I saw into your heart, and knew how you were oc- 
cupied, and therefore I pronounce you an 'Israelite' in- 
deed. 5 ' 

Nathanael knowing that Jesus possessed preternatural 
x Luke i : 34. 



78 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

knowledge in order to be able to make such a statement, 
forthwith makes a confession, "Rabbi, thou art the Son 
of God; thou art the King of Israel." He who had not 
only seen him but seen into him, must be no other than 
the King of Israel, the long expected Messiah. In his 
reply the true, guileless Israelite acknowledges the true 
Israelitic King. 

In reply to Philip's announcement that Jesus of Naz- 
areth, of "whom Moses in the law and the prophet did 
write," was at last found, Nathanael answered, "Can 
there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" This ques- 
tion does not, as some suppose, imply that Nazareth had 
a bad reputation. Nathanael was not prejudiced against 
Nazareth, a town of Galilee, because he was proud and 
would rather have Him come from Cana, his birthplace. 
Nathanael was reluctant to accept Nazareth, an insig- 
nificant town, and so close to his own town, as the birth- 
place for the Messiah, because he, like all the Galileans, 
was humble, and, therefore, did not think the Messiah 
would ever come from such a poor and humble class of 
people as the Galileans. Should Nazareth, or for that 
matter any Galilean town, be honored by having the long- 
expected Messiah rise among its inhabitants ? No prophet 
ever said that Nazareth would be the place to look for the 
Messiah. Hence, can there any good thing come out of 
Nazareth ? 

Thus, Nathanael was hampered by prejudices. We 
have in him an instance of a good man, a true Israelite, 
a man highly endowed with a moral disposition, and ad- 
dicted to the habit of devotion. It is remarkable that such 
a man should be hampered by prejudices. He was will- 
ing, however, to have them removed, to be enlightened. 



ST. Bx\ETHOLOMEW. 79 

He came and saw. He came to the Light and was searched, 
approved, and enlightened. So if any one has any prej- 
udice against Christ and His Church, let him come and 
see for himself, and he will find the case to be different 
from what he thought. 

Nathanael Bartholomew appears once more in the Gos- 
pel history as recorded by St. John. It was on the occa- 
sion when the Saviour manifested Himself to several of 
the disciples at early dawn after a night of fruitless fish- 
ing. "When the morning was now come, Jesus stood on 
the shore of the sea; but the disciples knew not that it 
was Jesus. Then saith Jesus unto them, Children, have 
ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said 
unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and 
ye shall find. They cast, therefore, and now they were 
not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." l 

As to the missionary career of Nathanael Bartholomew 
after the Ascension little is known. The traditions con- 
cerning his labors are very untrustworthy. These tradi- 
tions ascribe to him widely different fields of labor. He 
is said to have traveled through India, and left the Gos- 
pel of St. Matthew there. His fields of labor are also 
said to have been in Armenia and Cilicia. In his mission- 
ary work he labored with different Apostles as his com- 
panions. The form of his martyrdom varies. Tradition 
states that he suffered a horrible death at Albanapolis. 
He was first flayed, then crucified. In the Catholic Church 
a day of feast is celebrated in his honor on the 24th of 
August. It was on this day that the terrible massacre of 
the Hugenots in Paris took place in 1572, and from this 
date the tragic affair has been called the "Massacre of St. 
Bartholomew." 

1 John 21 : 2-6. 



SO ST. JAMES, THE SON OF ALPHAEUS. 



CHAPTER X. 
ST. JAMES, THE SON OF ALPHAEUS. 

NOTHING at all is mentioned in the New Testament 
of this Apostle only that he is included in the lists 
where the Apostles are enumerated. In all lists James 1 
stands at the head of the third group. Of this third group 
the other members are Simon Zelotes, Thaddaeus, also 
called Lebbaeus, and Judas Iscariot. 

James, the Son of Alphaeus, has been identified with 
several men of the New Testament. In the first place, 
he has been identified as a brother of Matthew or Levi. 
It is probable that he was a brother of Matthew, who 
also was a son of an Alphaeus. This identification, how- 
ever, has no weight in the Gospel. 2 

He has also been identified with James, the brother 

'Gr., lakobos; Lat., S. Jacobus; Ger., Jacobus; Ital., San Jacopo 
or Giacomo Minore ; Fr. , St. Jaceques Mineur. The Greek lakobos 
taken from Heb. Ya'akob. The name does not occur in the Old 
Testament except in the case of the Patriarch Jacob. The name 
had become common in New Testament times, and is borne by 
three, probably four men. 

2 The desire to connect as many of the Twelve as possible by 
ties of blood relationship has led critics to identify Alphaeus, the 
father of Matthew or Levi with Alphaeus, the father of James. 
This identification would make Matthew and James brothers. But 
even in St. Matthew's list of the Apostles, where James the Son 
of Alphaeus follows Matthew, there is no hint that the one was a 
brother of the other, as is the case with the names of Zebedee's 
sons. 



ST. JAMES, THE SON OF ALFHAEUS. 81 

of our Lord. We are informed that our Lord had four 
brothers, one of whom was called James. 1 The occasion 
for this identification arose from the interpretation of 
those passages of Scripture which mention the list of the 
women who followed Jesus to the Crucifixion. Matthew 
gives the list in this order, "Mary Magdalene, and Mary 
the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's 
children." 2 Mark gives the list thus, "Mary Magdalene 
and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and 
Salome." 3 Mark also continues further on, "When the 
Sabbath day was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the 
mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, 
that they might come and anoint him." 4 St. John says. 
"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and 
his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary 
Magdalene." 5 Those who identify James, the son of 
Alphaeus, with James, the brother of our Lord, claim 
that Mary, the mother of James and Joses of the first two 
lists is the same as Mary, the mother of Jesus, instead of 
identifying her with Mary, the wife of Cleophas of St. 
John's record. Thus James would be a son of Mary 
(Jesus' mother) and of Alphaeus, a second husband of 
Mary, and consequently a brother' of our Lord. This 
identification must be rejected because a comparison of 
the passages reveals an entirely different interpretation. 
Comparing the three records of the women at the Cross, 
we find that of the three women named as present, in 
addition to the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene occurs 
in all three lists. The name Mary, the mother of James 

J Matt. 13: 55; Mark 6: 3. 

-'Matt. 27 : 56. 4 Mark 16 : 1. 

s Mark 15: 40. 5 John 19: 25. 

6 



82 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

and Joses of the first two lists, is identified with Mary, 
the wife of Cleophas. Now, who is the "sister of Mary," 
the mother of Jesus, of John's record, but "Salome" of 
Mark's, and the "wife of Zebedee" of Matthew's Gospel ? 

Another reason why the identification of James, the 
Son of Alphaeus, with James, the brother of our Lord, 
may be doubted is the fact that Jesus would have been 
the last person to allow His choice of any of the Apostles 
to be determined by ties of blood. The claim has indeed 
been made that several, if not all, of our Lord's brothers 
were among the Twelve. No importance can be attached 
to the fact that three of the Apostles bore the same name 
as three of His brothers — James, Judas and Simon. 
These were very common names among the Jews, as we 
find the name of Mary to belong to at least three of the 
women in the Gospel story- Many Jameses are mentioned 
in Scripture as well as the names Judas and Simon. Even 
in- the apostolic circle each of these three names were 
borne by at least two Apostles. On the other hand, St. 
John informs us that even our Lord's brothers did not 
believe on Him until at least six months after His death. 
The Apostles, we have seen, were chosen a little over a 
year before the final crisis. This statement of St. John 
is entirely inconsistent with the assertion that some of 
the Lord's brothers belonged to the apostolic band. The 
identification of James, the Son of Alphaeus, with James, 
the brother of our Lord is, therefore, open to criticism 
and nothing definite can result from it. No importance 
needs to be attached to the question whether any of the 
Twelve were related to Jesus. 

One more identification of St. James is made which. 
no doubt, is the most plausible. We have learned that 



ST. JAMES, THE SON OF ALPHAEUS. 83 

Mary, the mother of James the less and Joses, is the same 
as Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and that we have no rea- 
son for believing from the Gospels that she was related to 
Jesus. James, the Son of Alphaeus, is usually identified 
with James the Less or Little, the brother of Joses and 
the son of Mary. This Mary is apparently called the wife 
of Cleophas, thus identifying Cleophas with Alphaeus. 1 

According to traditions, James bore the title of "the 
Just." He was the first bishop of Jerusalem. The account 
of his death is as follows : He was thrown down from 
the terrace of the Temple at Jerusalem by the Jews. 
When he landed on the ground beneath his brains were 
crushed with a fuller's club. This instrument has since be- 
come his attribute in works of art. Legends represent 
St. James as bearing a striking resemblance to Jesus. 
This resemblance was so strong that many times Jesus 
and James were mistaken for each other. It is said that 
this resemblance made the kiss of Judas in Gethsemane 
necessary. His festival is celebrated on the first of May. 

'The identification of Alphaeus, the father of James, with 
Cleophas the husband of Mary, John 19 : 25, rests on two hypothe- 
ses, a) the alleged derivation of the name Cleophas and Alphaeus 
from a common Aramaic stem, Halpltai. Alford maintains that 
the two Greek names of Alphaeus and Cleophas are simply 
two different ways of expressing the Hebrew name, Halphai. b) 
The assumption that since a Mary is given as the mother of James, 
and consequently as the wife of Alphaeus, she must be the same as 
Mary the wife of Cleophas who stood by the cross. Cleophas, 'of 
John's Gospel 19 : 25 has also been identified with Cleophas of St. 
Luke's 24: 18 by Ewald (Hist, of Israel, vi. 305). He denies, how- 
ever, the identification of Cleophas with Alphaeus, and maintains 
that it is an unreasonable confounding of a purely Greek with a 
purely Hebrew name. 



S4 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OP JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XL 

ST. JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE. 

A CURIOUS fact about James, 1 the Son of Zebedee, 
is that he is mentioned only in the Synoptical Gos- 
pels and Acts but never in the Fourth Gospel written by 
his own brother John. 2 His father's name was Zebedee, 
a well-to-do Galilean fisherman, 3 whose wife's name was 
Salome. 4 She appears to have been a sister of Mary, the 
mother of our Lord. 

The call of James to discipleship occurred while he was 
fishing on the Galilean Sea with his father and brother, 
and partners in the fishing trade — Peter and Andrew. 
At this time they were all residing at Capernaum, in Gal- 

1 German, Jacobus der Aeltere ; Lat., S. Jacobus Major; Ital., San 
Giacomo or Jacopo Maggiore ; French, St. Jacques Majeur ; Sp., San 
Jago, or Santiago El Tutelar. Zebedee' s son is known as James the 
Great, to distinguish him from James the Less, the Son of Alphaeus. 

2 No doubt James was the elder of the two. The order in 
which the two names are given is, James and John (except once by 
Luke 9 : 28, who probably wishes to show the prominence of John 
after James' death who was the first of the two to die). This fact 
as well as the fact that John is sometimes described as the brother 
of James, Matt. 17 : 1 ; Mark 5 : 37, intimates that James was the 
elder of the two brothers. 

s Mark 1 : 20 relates that he had hired servants, and both 
Mark 15 : 40, and Luke 8 : 3 that his wife was one of the women 
who followed and ministered of her substance to the apostolic 
band. 

* We learn this from a comparison of two passages of Scrip- 
ture, Matt. 27 : 56, and Mark 15 : 40. James and John would thus 
be cousins of our Lord. 



ST. JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE. 85 

ilee. The call of James to forsake his work and become 
a fisher of men elicited a ready response. He was just 
mending his net when Jesus called him, and straightway 
dropping net and needle, he left his father Zebedee in the 
ship with the hired servants and followed Him. 1 

James, together with his brother John, and Peter, we 
find preferred by Jesus before the other Apostles. At 
the Transfiguration, the Agony in the Garden of Geth- 
semane and at the Raising of the Daughter of Jairus we 
especially find these three together. 2 He is specially men- 
tioned as present at the healing of Peter's wife's mother, 3 
and on the Mount of Olives during the discourse of Jesus 
on the "Last Things." 4 On these two occasions he is 
associated with Andrew and the others. If the Sons of 
Zebedee were so nearly related to Jesus as first cousins, 
it helps us to understand Salome's request that her two 
sons might sit on His right hand and on His left hand in 
His glory, 5 as well as the commendation of Mary by our 
Lord to one who was not only His best beloved disciple, 
John, but her own nephew. From the hour of the Cruci- 
fixion John took Jesus' mother into his own house. 6 

In St. Mark's Gospel 7 we have the curious notice that 
our Lord surnamed James and his brother John "Boa- 
nerges," or "the Sons of Thunder." This characteriza- 
tion of the two brothers is quite in keeping with the 
anecdotes related by Mark and Luke concerning their 
conduct. Their conduct on one occasion manifested their 
1 Matt. 4: 21-22 ; Mark 1 : 19-20. 

2 Luke 9 : 28 : Matt. 26 : 37 ; Mark 5 : 37 ; Luke 8 : 51. 

3 Mark 1 : 29-30. 

*Mark 13: 3. 6 John 19: 27. 

5 Mark 10: 37. 'Mark 3: 17. 



86 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

impetuous zeal for their Master's honor, when they de- 
manded that their Master should call down fire from 
Heaven to consume the Samaritans, who refused to re- 
ceive Him as He was going up to Jerusalem, and to grant 
Him a passage through their country. 1 The title "Boa- 
nerges" was probably also given to them on account of 
their zeal manifested in their request that they might sit 
on His right hand and on His left hand in His Kingdom. 
Our Lord replied to their request by prophesying that 
they should drink of His cup and be baptized with His 
baptism. 2 

Nothing more is said of James in the Gospels. About 
fourteen years after the death of Jesus we hear of him 
again in the Book of Acts. He was called upon to drink 
the cup of suffering first of all the Apostles. This fact 
that he of all the Apostles suffered first clearly shows that 
he must have attracted the attention of the Jews by his 
bold uncompromising position. It was their King, 
Herod Agrippa, who sought to put an end to the teach- 
ings and followers of Jesus. He started his persecution 
by killing James with the sword and putting Peter in 
prison. This occurred shortly before the Passover of 
the year forty-four. 3 The twenty-fifth of -July is cele- 
brated as his feast day. 

When turning to tradition we find that more is re- 
lated of James in this field than in the Gospels. The 
Spanish legend of St. Iago, the patron saint of Spain, 
makes San Iago, or Santiago, the son of Zebedee and a 
native of Galilee, but it does not represent him as a fish- 
erman who follows that trade for a livelihood, but as a 

!Luke 9: 54. 'Act 12: 2, 3, 5. 

5 Mark 10: 37-38. 



ST. JAMES, THE SOX OF ZEBEDEE. 87 

nobleman's son accompanying his father and brother for 
pastime and sport. Unlike the other noblemen of his 
time, James was so heavenly minded that he was attracted 
to Jesus and finally decided to follow Him on all His 
journeys, witnessing all His wonderful works and imbib- 
ing His spirit and teaching. Together with the other 
Apostles, James is said to have preached first in Judaea 
after the Ascension of the Christ, and then on his travels 
he finally came to Spain with the Gospel of Jesus. The 
dreadful ignorance and idolatry of the people of Spain 
was the cause of his being unsuccessful in gaining many 
converts. The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to 
him one day while standing on the banks of the Ebro 
and commanded him to build there on the spot a church 
under her patronage. At the same time she assured him 
that her divine Son and she herself would be devoutly 
honored and Avorshipped by this heathenish people in fu- 
ture time. San Iago obeyed the vision. After establish- 
ing the Christian faith in Spain he is said to have re- 
turned to Judaea, where he again preached until he suf- 
fered martyrdom at the hands of Herod.. Shortly before 
his death the Jews were very bitter and determined in 
their persecution of him. It is related that a certain 
sorcerer by the name of Hermogenes made it his business 
especially to oppose him. One of his pupils, Philetus by 
name, was sent to James to oppose him in argument. 
James not only defeated Philetus in his argument but 
also converted him to the Christian faith. The conversion 
of his pupil greatly enraged Hermogenes. To get re- 
venge he bound Philetus by his spells and sorcery and 
then boastfully commanded his new teacher to deliver 
him of them. When James heard this, having been told 



88 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

by a servant of Philetus, he quickly sent his cloak to his 
new convert, who, when he had touched it, was delivered 
from the spells of Hermogenes and hastily went to James. 
In order to revenge himself again, Hermogenes sent a 
band of demons with orders to bind both James and 
his pupil and bring them to him. On the way the demons 
met a company of angels and were punished severely by 
them. The demons were then ordered by James to bring 
Hermogenes bound to him. When in obedience to his 
command Hermogenes was brought before James, the 
demons besought James to revenge himself and them. 
But James replied that it was one of the principles taught 
by the Christ to do good for evil. The prisoner was re- 
leased. Hermogenes thereupon entreated James to pro- 
tect him from the demons who had been his slaves, and 
cast all his books into the sea. Hermogenes received 
from James his staff, and ever since he became an earnest 
and faithful disciple of James and preached the Gospel 
with much success. Not long after the Jews were deter- 
mined to get rid of James. He was brought before Herod 
Agrippa, being falsely accused. A story related by Euse- 
bius, 1 states that when he was tried for his life, his ac- 
cuser was so greatly affected by his gentleness, con- 
stancy and the miracles which he did on the way to execu- 
tion that he declared himself a Christian and begged to 
die with him. The accuser obtained the forgiveness and 
blessing of James, who gave him a kiss, saying, "Pax 
vobis." From this arose the "kiss of peace," which has 
been used in the church from that time as a benediction. 
James and his accuser are then said to have been be- 
headed with the sword. 
iH. E. ii. 9. 



ST. JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE. 89 

After his death, according to tradition, the disciples of 
James came and took his body. They, however, did not 
dare to bury it, but put it on board a ship at Joppa. This 
ship was conducted to Spain under angelic guidance. 
After a week's journey the vessel landed at Iria Flavia 
in the northwestern part of Spain. The angels then 
brought the body to shore and laid it on a huge stone. 
When the body touched the stone the stone became like 
wax, so that the body sunk into it. This fact clearly sig- 
nified that the saint was to remain there. Later on a 
church was built over his tomb. All knowledge of his 
burial place was lost on account of the Saracen's in- 
vasion. In the year 800 A. D., however, it was again 
revealed to a priest. By order of Alphonso II the body 
was then removed to Compostella. This place became 
famous as a place of pilgrimage on account of the mir- 
acles wrought there. Some years the shrine was visited 
by a hundred thousand pilgrims. 

St. James was believed to have appeared after death at 
the head of Spanish armies on thirty-eight different occa- 
sions, mounted on a white horse, leading them to victory 
against their foes. One of the most notable occasions 
upon which St. James appeared to lead the Spanish army 
in war was in the year 939 A. D. King Ramirez refused 
to pay to the Moors the annual tribute of one hundred 
virgins. A battle followed between his troops and Abdel- 
raman, the Moor, on the plain of Alveida. or Clavijo. 
At first the Spanish army was driven back, but the fol- 
lowing night St. James is said to have appeared to the 
Spanish King and promised him victory on the next day. 
The King repeated his vision to his officers and soldiers. 
Before the battle he bade them trust to the heavenlv aid. 



90 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

The whole army rushed into battle with the cry, "San- 
tiago!" Immediately St. James was seen to lead on the 
troops, mounted on a milk-white charger. After the bat- 
tle 60,000 Moors were found dead on the battle field. 
Ever since that day when St. James brought to the Span- 
ish army such a signal victory, the word "Santiago" has 
been the Spanish war cry. 



ST. JOHN, THE BELOVED APOSTLE. 91 

CHAPTER XII. 

ST. JOHN, THE BELOVED APOSTLE. 

JN the person of St. John 1 we have a somewhat dif- 
ferent man than the rest of the Twelve. In the Gos- 
pels his name bears two epithets — "Boanerges" 2 and "the 
disciple whom Jesus loved." 3 The accounts in the Gos- 
pel narratives sufficiently bear proof that he was both "a 
son of Thunder," and "a beloved disciple." 

St. John is supposed to be the author of the Gospel, 
Three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, which bear 
his name. In the Gospel history there are but few scenes 
in which he takes an important place. From these scenes, 
however, we can gather enough to picture the Apostle's 
character. Strange as it may seem, he is never mentioned 
by name in the Gospel that bears his name. There he is 
described by himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." 
It is from the first three Gospels and the Acts that we 
gather our information concerning his person, character 
and work. 

John's home was in Galilee, probably Bethsaida, the 
home of Andrew and Philip and Peter, 4 where Zebedee, 
his father, was busy as a fisherman on the Galilean Sea. 
Zebedee is supposed to have been a man of some means. 

1 O. F. Jan, Jean, Jehan, Johan ; from Lat. Johannes; from Gr. 
Ioannes; i Heb. Ydhanan; (Yahweh hath been gracious). Ger. 
Der heilige Johannes; Ital. San Giovanni Evangelista; Fr. St. Jean. 

2 Mark 3 : 17. 

3 John 13 : 23 ; 19 : 26 ; 20 : 2 ; 21 : 7, 20. 
* John 1 : 44. 



92 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

as he possessed boats and nets and had hired servants. 1 
His mother, Salome, who was a sister of Mary, the 
mother of Jesus, was one of those women who con- 
tributed to the support of Jesus and the apostolic circle 
during His Ministry. 2 From these facts concerning his 
parents, we may gather that John and his brother James 
were thus not of the poorest class. Yet it is not to be 
assumed that they received more than the ordinary educa- 
tion of the Jewish children. As we know them in the 
Gospel history, they were engaged with their father in 
the fishing trade. By means of this trade they may have 
learned some Greek, which was commonly used in those 
days, especially among the inhabitants of the busy towns 
along the Galilean Sea. 

In the opening chapter of the Gospel that bears his 
name, John appears for the first time. There he is intro- 
duced to us as a disciple of John the Baptist. 3 When the 
Baptist made his appearance in the wilderness of Judaea, 
John, together with Peter and Andrew, went down from 
Galilee to hear him. After hearing him, and being im- 
pressed by what he said, they attached themselves to him 
as his disciples. Soon after Jesus came into that region 
from his Temptation. How long John had been with 
this stern preacher in the wilderness we are not certain. 
Nevertheless the time that he spent with John the Baptist 
was one of preparation for the higher discipleship soon 
to follow. John in his own record states that two disci- 
ples of the Baptist heard the witness borne by their mas- 
ter to Jesus and followed the "Greater One." One of 
these disciples is named by St. John — Andrew. The 

iMark i : 19-20. 3 John 1 : 35. 

2 Mark 15: 41. 



ST. JOHN, THE BELOVED APOSTLE. 93 

other he does not mention by name, but it seems obvious 
to infer that it was the author of the account himself. 
The two became the companions of Jesus and remained 
with Him, together with a few other men, during his 
early Ministry in Judaea. During this Ministry he wit- 
nessed the miracle at the Marriage at Cana, and the 
Cleansing of the Temple at Jerusalem about the time of 
the Passover ; he heard the instructions which Jesus gave 
the people of Judaea in regard to the "Baptism of Re- 
pentance," and administered the "Sacrament of Baptism" 
at the command of Jesus. On the return to Galilee they 
passed through Samaria, where occurred the incident of 
the meeting of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, 
which St. John alone of all the Evangelists so fully de- 
picted. 1 Then they came to Cana again, and while there 
the nobleman's son was cured by Jesus. 2 After this John 
returned home and again engaged in his usual occupa- 
tion for a brief season. As soon as the Baptist was be- 
headed, Jesus appeared on the shore of the Galilean Sea, 
ready for more vigorous work. This work, however, 
was to be witnessed by those who had already acknowl- 
edged Him and given Him some service. John was 
called, with his brother James, from out of the ship 
where they had been fishing with their father. Jesus 
formally summoned them, saying, "Follow me, and I will 
make you fishers of men." 3 Obeying the summons they 
became disciples in the full sense of the word. 

St. John appears rarely in a position distinct from that 
of the other Apostles. His experiences are sufficient to 
show that he was among the most prominent of the 

i John 4: 1-42. 2 John 4: 46-54. 

3 Matt. 4: 21-22. 



94 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Twelve, and that he was especially close in friendship to 
his Lord. Only twice he is coupled with three of his 
fellow-disciples — Peter, Andrew and James. The first 
occasion was when Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law of 
a fever in Simon Peter's house. 1 The other occasion was 
when Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, over against the 
Temple, during the week of His Passion. These three, 
with John, asked Him privately when our Lord's last 
prophecies would receive fulfilment. 2 Three times John 
is coupled with two of his fellow -apostles — Peter and 
James. These three alone are permitted to witness the 
raising of Jairus' daughter, 3 the Transfiguration, 4 and the 
Agony in Gethsemane. 5 

On four occasions in the Gospel we find John coupled 
with only one of his companions — Peter. These two Apos- 
tles were sent by Jesus to prepare the Passover, being di- 
rected, upon entering the city of Jerusalem, to follow a 
certain man bearing a pitcher of water into the home 
where he enters. 6 Later, on the same day, as the Apos- 
tles were eating the Passover with their Master, we find 
Peter and John together again. John was reclining at 
the table very close to our Lord. When the prophecy of 
the Betrayal was made by Jesus, St. Peter from behind 
beckoned to St. John in front to ask of whom He spake. 
St. John, then leaning back upon the breast of Jesus, 
asked the question which Peter would have Jesus answer, 
and received from the Lord the required answer. 7 On 
the next day, after the capture of Jesus, John became 
panic-stricken and fled with all the other disciples. He 
soon recovered himself and followed the procession to 
the palace of the high priest 8 In some way he was ac- 
1 Mark i: 29-31. * Mark 9: 2. "John 13: 23-26. 

2 Mark 13: 3-4. 5 Mark 14: 33. s John 18: 15. 

3 Mark 5 : 37. 6 Luke 22: 8-10 



ST. JOHN, THE BELOVED APOSTLE. 05 

quainted with the high priest, and was admitted to the 
court of the palace, but soon returned to the door and se- 
cured entrance for Peter, 1 who also had come with John 
to the palace. Together we find them entering the court, 
soon to be parted again until after the Resurrection. At 
the news of the Resurrection from Mary Mag'dalene, 
John and Peter hastened to the tomb. John, being the 
younger of the two, outran Peter, but did not enter it un- 
til Peter came up. Upon entering and seeing how the 
grave clothes were arranged he "believed" the news of 
the Resurrection. 2 A few days later John returned to 
Galilee, where on a certain morning at the lakeside he 
and other disciples had a vision of the Risen Lord. In 
the scene which followed, St. Peter and "the disciple 
whom Jesus loved" are the prominent agents. John was 
the first to recognize the Lord, and "saith unto Peter, 
It is the Lord. "When Simon Peter heard that it was the 
Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, and cast himself 
into the sea" to come to the Lord as quickly as possible. 3 

On two occasions St. John appeared in a position dis- 
tinct from that of the other Apostles. The first of these 
occurred when John came to the Lord and said, "Master, 
we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he fol- 
loweth not us : and we forbade him, because he followeth 
not us." i His devotion to Jesus was so great that he re- 
buked the one, who, though not of the company of Jesus' 
disciples, was found casting out demons in His name. 
The other occasion, when John appeared alone on the 
stage of the Gospel history, was at the Cross. After his 
ignominious desertion of his Lord, and the Trial in the 

iJohniS: 16. 3 John 21 : 1-7 

2 John 20: 2-S. 4 Mark 9: 3S. 



96 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Court of Caiaphas, we find him alone and faithful to the 
Lord to the end. As he stood near the Cross, he received 
from his Lord the dying charge to care for His mother. 1 
He remained long enough at the foot of the Cross to see 
the piercing of Jesus' side, 2 and then led the mother of 
Jesus to the city, where he appears to have had relatives 
or acquaintances. 

St. John appears on two occasions in connection with 
his brother James. It was James and John who wished to 
call down fire from Heaven upon an inhospitable Samar- 
itan village. 3 This wish was expressed after the inhab- 
itants of a certain Samaritan village had not welcomed 
Jesus as He was journeying toward Jerusalem. Near the 
close of the Lord's Ministry James and John, prompted 
by their mother, showed their ambition for seats of honor 
in the coming Messianic Kingdom, by saying, "Master, 
we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we 
shall desire." After being told to express their wish, 
they said, ''Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy 
right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory." 1 
Jesus' reply promised them only the cup of sacrificial 
service as their future portion. 

Reflecting upon some of the scenes of the Gospel where 
John is the actor, we learn that he was an intolerant, im- 
petuous, and ambitious man. He always revealed himself 
as a stern and uncompromising man in his hatred of evil 
and sin, as well as in his defence and love of truth. He 
hated wrong and evil as much as he loved truth. The 
legends regarding his later life also reveal this character- 
istic. The trait of character revealed at the time when he 
asked Jesus what was to be done with the man whom 
JJohn 19: 27. -'John 19: 35. 3 John 9: 54. 



ST. JOHN, THE BELOVED APOSTLE. 97 

they had found casting out devils in His name, as well 
as his fiery zeal on the occasions when, with his brother 
James, he desired to call down fire from Heaven, and to 
sit in seats of honor in the Kingdom, give us some hints 
for the reason why Jesus designated James and John as 
"Boanerges" (Sons of Thunder). In their zeal they 
were fiery men and in their temperament severe. John 
"the beloved," loved with a strong passionate devotion. 
When he desired fire from Heaven upon the Samaritan 
village for their incivility, he manifested his intense love 
and zeal for his Master, but at the same time he showed 
how intensely he hated the Samaritans. The request to 
sit on the right hand, and on the left hand of the Lord in 
the Kingdom, showed that John and his brother were am- 
bitious. His devotion to his Lord made him courageous. 
In John we have the finest type of strong manhood made 
perfect and beautiful by spiritual purity. Doubtless dur- 
ing his training he was effectively moulded by the spirit 
of the Christ, until in him we have the highest type of a 
saint. 



THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ST. JOHN AFTER THE ASCENSION. 

THE life of St. John after the i\scension of Jesus may 
be divided into two parts; his life and career at 
Jerusalem, and his career at Ephesus. The facts concern- 
ing his career at Jerusalem we find recorded in the Acts 
and Epistles ; those concerning his career at Ephesus are 
taken from early Christian legends and traditions. 

In regard to John's career at Jerusalem, the Book of 
Acts informs us that he appeared four times in company 
with Peter. On these occasions, however, Peter appears 
as the spokesman. John and Peter were going together 
at the "hour of prayer" to the Temple, when they met a 
man "lame from birth" at the "Beautiful Gate," and 
cured him. 2 This miracle caused much excitement among 
the worshippers, and a large crowd soon gathered around 
the healed man and the miracle workers in "Solomon's 
Porch." The excitement and the crowd soon brought to 
the spot the authorities of the Temple. Just then the two 
Apostles were addressing the people, who stood around 
them astonished, because of the miracle. The authorities, 
being sore troubled because the Apostles taught the peo- 
ple, arrested them, and on the following day brought them 
before the Sanhedrim; 3 but they were soon released. A 
little later John and Peter were sent to Samaria. Some 
of the Samaritans had received the word of God under 

iMark 10: 35-40; Matt. 20: 20-23. 3 Acts 4: 1-22. 

'Acts 3 : 1-3. 



ST. JOHN AFTER THE ASCENSION. 99 

Philip's ministry, and therefore the two were sent thither 
and "prayed that they might receive the Holy Ghost." x 
St. Paul speaks of John as one of the "pillars" of the 
Church at Jerusalem. 2 At the time of the Council of 
Jerusalem in 50 A. D., John, with James and Peter, gave 
Paul the right hand of fellowship and consulted with him 
corncerning the latters successful work among the Gen- 
tiles. 3 

On these occasions no words of St. John are recorded, 
yet the records show that he was prominent and influen- 
tial in the Early Church. 

Tradition has been busy with the life of St. John after 
his departure from Jerusalem. Sometime between the 
Council at Jerusalem and the destruction of Jerusalem, 
John left the city and came to Asia Minor, where most 
of the remainder of his life was spent. In Asia Minor he 
resided chiefly at Ephesus. No doubt Ephesus was se- 
lected because of its importance as a centre for mission- 
ary acitivity. In Asia Minor he is said to have founded 
the "Seven Churches", spoken of in the Apocalypse. Dur- 
ing this period of his life, he is also supposed to have 
written his Gospel, Epistles and Apocalypse. All his 
writings are addressed to readers belonging to the same 
general circle of Churches. 

During the persecution of Domitian, John was taken 
bound to Rome and, according to Tertullian, he was there 
by way of suffering martyrdom. Traditions tell that he 
was thrown in a cauldron of boiling oil, but was mi- 
raculously preserved from death. This miracle occurred 
outside the Latin Gate. After this he was accused of 

1 Acts 8 : 14-15. 3 Gal 2:1-9; Acts T 5 : 2 - 

? Gal. 2 : 9. 



100 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

using magic and was exiled to Patmos, where he re- 
ceived his revelation. Eusebius x affirms that this ban- 
ishment occurred during the persecution of Domitian. 
By permission of Emperor Nerva he removed to Ephesus, 
where he survived until the reign of Trajan. He is said 
to have died at the age of 180 years. According to Greek 
tradition he died without pain, and immediately arose 
again without change, after which he ascended into 
Heaven to rejoin Jesus and Mary, of whom he had taken 
care the remainder of her life. According to another 
legend, it is affirmed that he was not really dead, but 
that the earth above his body rose and fell with his 
breathing. 

The fact that John is said to have reached an old age 
as well as the fact that he was so eminent in the. apos- 
tolic age, may have been the cause why his life and mir- 
acles were embellished with extremely interesting legends. 
St. Isidore affirms that an attempt was made against his 
life at Rome, by poisoning the sacramental cup. John is 
said to have taken the cup, and upon doing so the poison 
came forth in the form of a serpent. Thereupon he drank 
the wine without any serious results, while the person 
who poisoned the wine fell dead at his feet. This attempt 
is said to have been made by order of Domitian. Accord- 
ing to another account, he was challenged by Aristo- 
demus, the high priest of Diana, at Ephesus, to drink of 
a poisonous cup in order to prove that his mission was au- 
thoritative. John accepted the challenge, drank the wine 
unhurt, but the priest fell dead. 

The remaining facts of his life as set forth in the leg- 
ends occurred after he returned from Patmos and during 
i H. E. 3 : 18-20. 



ST. JOHN AFTER THE ASCENSION. 101 

his final residence at Ephesus. When he returned from Pat- 
mos he met a funeral procession near the city of Ephesus. 
He inquired who it might be that was being carried to the 
burial ground. He was told that it was Drusiana, a pious 
woman, who had done many good works and with whom 
John had dwelt. Upon hearing that it was this woman, 
he became sad ; and upon ordering the bearers to put down 
the bier, he earnestly prayed to God, whereupon the 
woman was restored to life. She returned to the city 
with John, and he again dwelt with her in her home. 

Clement of Alexandria tells the story, that when John 
was first at Ephesus, he took under his care a young man 
of great promise. During his captivity at Rome, John 
left him under the care of a bishop. The young man 
soon became dissipated in his life and finally was made 
the leader of a band of robbers. After the return of 
John, the bishop was asked to give an account of the 
young man. When he heard what had become of him, 
John was grieved, and then went in search of him into 
the forest to reclaim his early convert. When he reached 
the abode of the robbers, the young leader tried to avoid 
his old teacher. John, however, managed to get him to 
listen to his words. The young robber tried to conceal 
his hand that had committed many crimes and wrong- 
doings as John spoke to him, but John noticing him, 
seized the hand, and while he was kissing it, bathed it 
with his tears. John was successful in reconverting the 
robber. 

While at Ephesus John is said to have fiercely com- 
bated the heresy of Cerinthus. The presence of danger- 
ous heresies led him to write his Gospel, in order that 
these heresies might thereby be refuted. A legend states 



102 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

that St. John even refused to be under the same roof with 
the heretic. 

In his extreme old age, Jerome describes him as being 
so feeble that he had to be carried into church. He could 
not address the congregation for any length of time. He 
was fond, in addressing the congregation, of using sim- 
ply the old commandment of the Christ, "Little children 
love one another." Upon being asked by his disciples 
why he always repeated this, he answered, "Because it 
is the precept of the Lord and if that alone be done it 
sufficeth." 

Nearly all of these legends are untrustworthy. Some 
of them may have a grain of truth in them. They form 
a consistent picture of the noble character of John and 
try to interpret the prophecy of the Saviour, regarding 
his earthly duty. They all seek in some way to illustrate 
his character as vehement and impetuous, which, how- 
ever, in later years, had been moulded by the spirit of love. 



JUDAS ISCAEIOT. 103 

CHAPTER XIV. 
JUDAS ISCARIOT. 

THERE are four prophecies in the Old Testament 
which refer to Judas Iscariot and which have been 
fulfilled in him during the Passion of our Lord. The 
first prophecy refers to his Betrayal of Jesus. In the 
forty-first Psalm, David, in the spirit of prophecy, says, 
"Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, 
which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against 
me." x The second prophecy is that of his Betrayal of 
Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. It is Zechariah who 
quotes thus, ''And I said unto them. If ye think good, give 
me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for 
my price thirty pieces of silver." 2 Zechariah also uttered 
the third prophecy, that of the return of the thirty pieces 
of silver and the purchase of the potters' field therewith. 
This prophecy immediately follows that which refers to 
the bargain for thirty pieces of silver. "And the Lord 
said unto me. Cast it unto the potter : a goodly price that 
I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of 
silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the 
Lord." 3 The last prophecy concerning Judas refers to 
his death. David, in a Psalm, describes his death as fol- 
lows : "Let death sieze upon them, and let them go down 
quick into hell : for wickedness is in their dwellings, and 

iPs. 41 : 9. 'Zech. 11 : 13. 

*Zech. 11 : 12. 



104 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

among them." 1 How completely these four prophecies 
have been fulfilled in Judas ! 

There is no doubt that the first prophecy refers to the 
Betrayal of Jesus and that the person spoken of who 
lifted his heel against Jesus was Judas Iscariot. 2 Nor is 
there any confusion respecting the traitor, although there 
are numerous men in the Scripture who bore the name of 
Judas. 3 Judas is surnamed in the Gospels, Iscariot. The 
meaning of the word "Iscariot" has frequently been dis- 
cussed. It has been explained as meaning "the man of 
Kerioth." 4 This explains how both Simon, 5 the father of 
Judas, and Judas himself have this epithet, the twofold 
use of the word suggesting that Kerioth was a local name, 
the home of Judas. Kerioth has been generally iden- 
tified with Kerioth-Hezron mentioned in Joshua, 6 a town 
south of Hebron, in Judaea. At any rate, Judas was a 
native of southern Palestine, while the other Eleven were 
of Galilee. This we learn from a statement in the Book 
of Acts, where it is recorded that after the death of Judas 
and the Resurrection of Jesus, the Lord took the Eleven 
to the Mount of Olives, and as He spoke to them there, 
as they beheld, "He was taken up ; and a cloud received 
him out of their sight. And while they looked stead- 

*Ps. 55: i5- 

1 Greek, Ioudas Iskariotes. Judas is the Greek form of the Heb. 
name Judah. German, Judas Ischariot; Ital., Giuda Scar iota; French, 
Judas Iscariote. 

s Before the time of the Christ there are six men recorded 
with this name, and during and after His career there are also six 
others mentioned. Hence it must have been a very common Jewish 
name. Another Apostle bore this name. The sin of Judas has 
stamped the name with such evil significance that it has since 
become the class name of perfidious friends. 

4 Hebrew, Tsh Kerioyth ; Greek, Iskariotes. 

5 John 6: 71 ; John 13: 26. s Joshua 15: 25. 



JUDAS ISCARIOT. 105 

fastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men 
stood by them in white apparel ; Which also said, Ye men 
of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven P" 1 

Of Judas we are told that he was called with the rest 
of the Twelve to be an Apostle. 2 All four Evangelists 
stigmatize and brand him with the infamous title on his 
brow, "Judas Iscariot who also betrayed him," when 
they mention him for the first time. At the time of the 
Betrayal they use the phrase, "which was betraying him." 
Like the Apostles at their call, he received power to cast 
out demons and cure diseases. 3 One of the other Eleven 
must have been his companion when the Twelve were 
sent out "two and two" to evangelize the towns of Gal- 
ilee. There can be no question but that he, like the oth- 
ers, had been successful in his first attempt at evangeliza- 
tion. 

The greatest difficulty regarding Judas is his election 
to the apostolate. One cannot sufficiently wonder how 
such a man ever got into the apostolic circle : how he ever 
came to be one of the Chosen Ones of the Christ; why 
Jesus chose such a man to be one of His Apostles. These 
questions suggest other questions. Was His choice due 
to ignorance or lack of foreknowledge? Was the real 
character of the man, when he was chosen, hidden from 
Jesus ? Certainly Jesus knew him and his character, for 
St. John tells us that Jesus "not only knew all men, and 
what was in man," but that Jesus knew from the begin- 
ning who it was that "should betray him." 4 While wash- 

lActs i: 9-1 1. 

2 Lange suggests that the man who said to Jesus, "I will fol- 
low thee whithersoever thou goest" (Luke 9: 57) was Judas. 
This is improbable. The man who said this to Jesus was not one 
of the Twelve, because it was said some time after the Twelve had 
been chosen. St. Matthew calls the man a scribe. (8 : 19). 

s Matt. 10: 1. 4 John 2: 24-25; 6: 64. 



106 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

ing His disciples' feet, Jesus said, "I know whom I have 
chosen." 1 From this we may conclude that Jesus claimed 
a knowledge of Judas, that He chose Judas knowing what 
he was. He did not choose Judas to be one of the Twelve, 
because He foreknew that he would eventually become a 
traitor, but that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "He that 
eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me." 2 
Shortly after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, 
the Pharisees and chief priests held a counsel and said : 
''What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we 
let him thus alone, all men will believe on him : and the 
Romans shall come and take away both our place and na- 
tion. And one of them named Caiaphas, being the high 
priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing 
at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one 
man should die for the people, and that the whole nation 
perish not. And this spake he not of himself : but, being 
high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die 
for that nation ; And not for that nation only, but that 
also he should gather together in one the children of God 
that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth 
they took counsel together for to put him to death." 
"Both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a 
commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he 
should shew it, that they might take him." 3 Shortly 
after the anointing in Bethany, Judas had an opportunity 
to visit the chief priest and Pharisees, "And said to them, 
What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? 
And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of sil- 

#/: 

^ohn 13: 18. s John **-: 47-53, 57- 

a John 13 : 18. 



JUDAS ISCAEIOT. 107 

ver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray 
him," x being satisfied with the bargain. 

Only a day or two after this transaction between Judas 
and the chief priests and Pharisees, our Lord instituted 
the Last Supper in the "Upper Room," at Jerusalem. As 
the disciples sat down to eat the Passover, "the devil hav- 
ing now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's Son, 
to betray him," Jesus began to wash His disciples' feet. 
During the feet-washing, the Christ alluded to the fact 
that He knew who it was that should betray Him. 2 "Ye 
are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray 
him; therefore said he. Ye are not all clean." 3 Having 
resumed His seat'after the feet-washing He was troubled 
in spirit and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one 
of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on 
another, doubting of whom he spake." 4 The disciples, 
of course, had not known there was a traitor among them, 
but Jesus had known it. He even hinted at it over a year 
before. All this time He kept the knowledge of this fact 
to Himself. Now, however, He let the secret out. "Then 
Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is 
it I? He said unto him. Thou hast said." After a mo- 
ment's hesitation He added, "That thou doest, do quick- 
ly." 5 Judas took the hint; he went out immediately, and 
so finally quit the society of which he had been an unwor- 
thy member. All this seems to have been new to the rest 
of the disciples, for the Evangelist states, "No man at the 
table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. Some 
of them thought, that because Judas had the bag, that 
Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have 

1 Matt. 26: 15-16. *John 13: 21-22. 

2 John 13: ?. 5 Matt. 26: 25; John 13: 27. 

3 John 13 : io-n. 



108 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHBIST. 

need of against the feast; or, that he should give some- 
thing to the poor." 1 

It was not very long after Judas had left the company 
in the "Upper Chamber" that he appeared at the head of 
a band of soldiers who carried lanterns and swords and 
staves, in the Garden of Gethsemane, whither he was con- 
fident his Master had gone. It was now midnight, or at 
least a little past midnight, when the traitor crossed the 
Cedron, which separated Gethsemane from Jerusalem, 
to betray Jesus. Judas took the part of a leader ; he knew 
where to find Jesus — in the Garden of Gethsemane — for 
Jesus resorted thither oftentimes with His disciples. But 
before he entered the garden with his armed mob, he had 
given them a sign, saying, "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that 
same is he: hold him fast." 2 Finding the Saviour awake 
he proceeded with caution so as not to frighten the other 
disciples who were with Him. Instead of commanding 
the soldiers to lay hold of Him and arrest Him, Judas 
approached, keeping the mob back as if it did not belong 
to him. He hurried toward the Master as if to apprise 
Him of this danger and condole Him on so sad a mis- 
fortune as His apprehension, and flinging himself on His 
neck, sobbed, "Hail, Master," 3 and gave Him a kiss of 
pretended love, peace and honor — a kiss by which those 
in waiting were to know Him and seize Him as their pris- 
oner. That kiss of Judas, however, was unnecessary, for 
when the band approached Jesus said to them, "Whom 
seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus 
saith unto them, I am he. As soon as he had said unto 
them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground. 
Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they 
^ohn 13: 28-29. 2 Matt. 26: 48. J Matt. 26: 49- 



JUDAS ISCAKIOT. 109 

said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you 
that I am he." x Jesus by going forward to meet His 
captors and declaring Himself to be the Person they were 
seeking, rendered the signal kiss unnecessary. But Judas, 
in spite of this, went forward to kiss Jesus, and so dem- 
onstrated that he was actuated by malicious revengeful 
feeling and spite. 

It remains for us to inquire. What were the motives of 
his crime? What induced Judas to betray Jesus? This is a 
question quite hard to answer. The crime and the man are 
still a mystery. Both are the darkest riddles in human 
and divine history. Many have attempted to assign the 
motive for the wicked deed. In so doing some have at- 
tempted to brighten and some to darken his guilt; some 
have attempted to excuse Judas and his crime ; others to 
aggravate his guilt. All of these attempts are only prob- 
abilities — none deal with certainties, none are satisfactory 
but only conjectural. 

More than one of the Evangelists connect the treachery 
of Judas with the Anointing at Bethany, in which Mary 
anointed Jesus with costly ointment. St. John, for in- 
stance, takes occasion to inform us that this disciple who 
betrayed Jesus was a thief, for he had the bag, and took 
away what was put therein. This he did secretly. When 
Mary had anointed the feet of Jesus with spikenard, 
Judas Iscariot, who should betray Him, said, "Why was 
not this anointment sold for three hundred pence, and 
given to the poor ? This he said not that he cared for the 
poor," the Evangelist remarks, "but because he was a 
thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein." 2 
This statement, of course, shows that Judas was a cov- 
^ohn 18: 4-8. 2 John 12: 5-6. 



110 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

etous man. Apparently, this beautiful act of Mary brought 
all the evil in his heart to such a point that he could no 
longer keep in his wicked thoughts. This ointment should 
have been sold and the money, raised from its sale, should 
have been distributed to the poor. But Judas did not care 
for the poor. Jesus, however, did. He never forgot the 
poor. When the apostolic company had more than suffi- 
cient, distribution was made among the poor. But to 
Judas the sum acquired from the ointment seemed a large 
amount. And no doubt he felt that he was losing a great 
deal. From such a large sum of money, he might have 
taken a large slice. The fact that Judas was a covetous 
man has led some to believe that he betrayed his Master 
for the paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver. None but a 
man with a covetous spirit, none but a greedy person 
would take money for such a crime. The Evangelists 
do represent him as a covetous man. As soon as the 
apostolic company began to have some funds, we find 
that it is Judas who was their treasurer. He administered 
these, however, dishonestly. His pilfering from the treas- 
ury is one bad thing which he did, and which is recorded 
previous to his nefarious crime of betraying. 

But, no doubt, Judas yielded to other forms of tempta- 
tions. Covetousness was not the only or chief cause of 
his treachery. Of course, it was one of the causes ; be- 
cause, the Evangelist informs us, that he sought the 
priests when the announcement was made by them that 
they desired to apprehend Jesus. He sought the priests, 
and not they him; and his question was, "What are ye 
willing to give me?" x They did not suggest to him and 
say, ''we will give thee." After this interview with the 
^att. 26: 15. 



JUDAS ISCAEIOT. 



Ill 



priests he sought opportunity to betray Jesus. That he 
was willing to take so little as thirty pieces of silver, 
proves how strong his passion was. But the Evangelists 
do jioL represent covetousness as the sole, or even as the 
principal motive of his course. Other passions were at 
work in his soul when he sold his Lord than the cold 
money which he would receive as his reward. 

Disappointed ambition also probably helped him to be- 
tray Jesus. Like the rest of the disciples, he looked to 
the Christ for the establishment of an earthly Messianic 
Kingdom — a Kingdom with great profits and honor. He 
may have been the first of the Twelve to realize that no 
profit, no honor, not even an earthly kingdom was in 
sight. When the suspicion first dawned upon him that 
the hopes of a Messianic Kingdom were not to be fulfilled, 
the inner man of Judas underwent a critical change. This 
happened almost a year before the Betrayal on the occa- 
sion when the Christ resisted the attempts of His follow- 
ers to take Him by force and make Him their King ; 2 as 
also, when many of His disciples went back, and walked 
no more with him. 2 At that time Jesus warned Judas 
against the evil spirit which he was allowing to take 
possession of his mind by a strong saying. "Have I not 
chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil ?" 3 All the 
disciples expected that Jesus would soon set up His Mess- 
ianic Kingdom, and become a political Messiah. It was 
in view of such expectations as these that they frequently 
questioned the Saviour, as they did even after the Res- 
urrection, "Wilt thou at this time restore again the King- 
dom to Israel?" 4 They had, then, expected Jesus to be- 



ijohn 6 : 15. 
'John 6: 66. 



'John 6 : 70. 
♦Acts 1: 6. 



112 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

come an earthly king and hoped to hold high places in 
His court. They were waiting to the very end to see their 
Master throw off the cloak of his humble condition and 
take to Himself His great power and reign, only they 
left the time and means in their Master's hands, not ven- 
turing to criticize His proceedings. They would pa- 
tiently wait. But not so Judas. He was not so patient. 
He was a man of energy and practicability, and he 
allowed himself to believe that he had discerned a de- 
fect in the character of his Master. Jesus appeared to 
him too spiritual and unworldly for the enterprise on 
which he had embarked. Jesus was too much employed 
with healing and preaching and directing men to Eternal 
Life. Judas thought it would be well enough to do these 
things when once He had His kingdom established. Jesus 
evidently was losing His opportunity, he thought. He 
had already refused to be crowned king by force, and so 
Judas' ambition partly fell, and at that time the presence 
of a satanic character among the Twelve was announced 
by Jesus. But Judas did not heed the warning. Perhaps 
it was at this stage that Judas commenced to steal from 
the bag which he carried. He felt that he must have some 
tangible reward for following the Christ, and he justified 
his peculations by saying to himself that he was not tak- 
ing half as much as he had been led to expect. He was 
constantly thinking that he was an ill-used man ; that he 
was not getting what he ought to have; that Jesus was 
not going to be what he expected Him to become, and that 
his opportunities were thrown away. What must his 
thoughts have been concerning the Triumphal Entry of 
Jesus into Jerusalem? Judas saw that that led to noth- 
ing. One vast force was still on the side of Tesus — the 



JUDAS ISCAEIOT. 113 

enthusiasm of the populace — but even of that Jesus was 
not taking advantage. Jesus, at that time, had every oppor- 
tunity when he was ushered into the city of Jerusalem by 
the multitude that welcomed Him, and responded to His 
Messianic claims, to take up the reigns of the govern- 
ment. Judas then supposed that Jesus had in His hands 
what was the object of his life. But Jesus did nothing, 
and the crowd dispersed, disappointed and disheartened. 
Judas then thought that he ought to force Jesus to act,- 
He determined to deliver Jesus into the hands of the au- 
thorities, who were known to be seeking His life. Once 
in their hands, He would hesitate no longer. When they 
laid hands on Him, Judas conjectured, He would, of 
course, liberate Himself, and His miraculous power would 
certainly startle the people and make them believe that He 
was the Messianic King. Thus would His Kingdom be 
magnificently set up. And the man whom the King would 
delight to honor would surely be the humble servant by 
whose audacity and shrewdness the crisis had been brought 
about. When Judas saw that the Triumphal Entry led to 
nothing, the compact with the chief priests and the Phari- 
sees was made. 

No doubt Judas was also actuated in committing his 
crime by feelings of jealousy and spite. Probably he 
imagined that his feelings had been injured. Of course, 
the Apostles were all human men. and might here and 
there have dropped some remark which Judas probably 
thought was meant for him. Who knows, but that the 
question of the disciples, "Who should be the greatest 
in the kingdom,'' might have made him feel that they 
were suspicious of him, and that the Lord when stating 
who should be the greatest would also state who would 






114 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

be the least. Judas might have been offended at this 
question, thinking it was aimed at him, because, no doubt 
by this time his peculations from the money bag were 
known to the company. Of course, he knew that Jesus 
knew of his pilfering, and in this way offences might 
arise. The mere fact that he of all the Apostles was the 
only one that came from Judaea, while the rest were all 
from Galilee, might have made him feel that he was 
isolated. Then again, Jesus dropped a word of warning 
now and then, and especially did He denounce hypocrisy. 
Judas must have known that Jesus knew him through and 
through, and therefore he grew to hate Him. The other 
Apostles were becoming more and more attached to 
their Master, because they felt increasingly how much 
they owed Him; but Judas did not feel that he owed 
Him anything. Indeed, Judas felt that he had been be- 
trayed. The question arose in his mind, Why not betray 
Him in turn ? Why not get revenge ? 

There can be no doubt that Judas had some good qual- 
ities. We may assume that at one time the life of Judas 
seemed full of promise. He must have exhibited some 
enthusiasm for the Person and cause of the Christ. His 
good qualities led to his admission into the apostolic cir- 
cle. Jesus was always strict about permitting any to 
follow Him, and would not have chosen Judas if he had 
■ ? not had some good qualities, and had not shown enthu- 
siasm for His cause. Among his good qualities we may 
mention ambition, energy and practical ability. But in 
his case the good that was in him grew less and less, and 
at last the sole bond which held him to the Christ was 
what he could make out of the connection. 

The world has agreed in regarding Judas as the chief 



JUDAS ISCAEIOT. 115 

of all sinners. The master passion of Judas was a base 
one. Combining his person and crime, he surely has be- 
come one of the darkest riddles of history, insomuch that 
critics have rejected the Gospel story of him and his 
crime as a Christian myth. Critics have regarded Judas 
as a Christian fiction to represent Judaism which has 
been treacherous to her prophets and to Jesus, by putting 
them and Him to death. Judas is not considered as one 
of the Twelve; at least, no one of the Twelve by that 
name was really guilty of this crime. 1 But the Gospels 
and the Acts of the Apostles explicitly state that Judas 
who committed the crime was "one of the Twelve" and 
he is always branded by the Evangelists with the words, 
"who also betrayed him." 

1 Keim correctly remarks that it is incredible that Christians 
should invent such a crime for an Apostle. For if Judas, one of the 
Twelve, as he is called in the Gospels and the Acts, never betrayed 
Jesus, the Evangelists would do wrong to attribute a crime to Judas 
which he never committed. 



116 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XV. 

JUDAS AFTER THE BETRAYAL. 

THERE are two incidents in the life of Judas recorded 
after his Betrayal of Jesus that are somewhat dim- 
cult to explain. We are informed that after Judas learned 
that Jesus was condemned to death he repented himself 
and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests. 
Thereupon he rushed from the Temple whither he had 
brought the money and committed suicide by hanging. 1 

It is quite difficult to determine at what point Judas 
changed his mind about his nefarious deed and deter- 
mined to bring the money back to the chief priests. The 
words of the Gospel narrative seem to indicate that it 
happened early in the morning of the Crucifixion Day, as 
soon as Jesus was condemned by the Sanhedrim. 2 When 
Judas saw that Jesus would not liberate Himself from the 
position in which he had placed Him; when he saw Jesus 
would not use his miraculous power to free Himself as he 
thought He would, but that rather Jesus was being con- 
demned to death, he was stricken with remorse, made a 
mad rush to the chief priests and brought with him the 
thirty pieces of silver. Offering them to the chief priests 
and imploring them to take back the money, he cried : "I 
have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." 
But he had come to miserable comforters. They turned 
] Matt. 27: 3-10. 2 Matt. 27: 1-3. 



JUDAS AFTER THE BETRAYAL. 117 

their backs on him in contempt and with impatience, say- 
ing, "What is that to us? See thou to that." Probably 
Judas had expected,"upon the return of the thirty pieces 
of silver and by his passionate confession to the Christ's 
innocence that the chief priests would release Jesus. But 
he was mistaken. They had been cordial enough to him 
when he had come before ; but now, they had no further 
interest in the vile instrument which they had used. He 
had to turn away from them, but the money in his hand 
was burning. He could keep it no longer. Before escap- 
ing from the precincts of the Temple, he flung the money, 
which had been weighed to him by those officers of the 
Temple, with all his might into that part of the Sanctuary 
which could be entered only by the priests. Each coin 
resounded as it fell upon the beautifully designed marble 
pavement. He must either have availed himself of an 
open door to fling it in or made a mad rush across the for- 
bidden threshold. He threw down the money; not only 
had it been too dearly earned but he desired to rid himself 
of it, as well as leave with the priests their own share of 
the guilt. 

All these things were well. Judas repented of his sin ; 
he confessed ; he cast from him the reward of iniquity ; 
but his penitence lacked the most essential thing — he did 
not turn to God in faith. His repentance was that of re- 
morse, of despair and of death. Then he rushed away 
from the Temple to quit the world and mankind. The 
mode of his suicide was characteristically base. We have 
two accounts of his death in Holy Scripture. In St. 
Matthew we are told that Judas hung himself. Fit end 
for such a man ! Thereupon "The chief priests took the 
silver pieces, and said. It is not lawful for to put them 



118 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And 
they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, 
to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called 
the field of blood unto this day. Then was fulfilled that 
which was spoken by Jeremy the Prophet, saying, And 
they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that 
was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did 
value; And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord 
appointed me." x 

The point of connection between the fact and the 
prophecy is the exact correspondence between the amount 
of money paid for the prophet's hire and for the Great 
Prophet's Betrayal. In both cases the paltry sum was 
the expression of the nation's ingratitude; for thirty 
pieces of silver was nothing more than the price of a 
slave. 2 When St. Matthew wrote the details of the Be- 
trayal, he called to mind the experience of Zechariah, and 
saw in that experience the foreshadowing and type of the 
treatment of the Christ, in which the sin of a thank- 
less people reached its climax. St. Matthew, however, 
ascribed this experience to Jeremiah, not intentionally, 
but probably because his memory failed him at the time 
when he made the ascription. 

In the Acts, St. Luke's narrative is somewhat different. 
The account here is as follows : "Now this man pur- 
chased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling 
headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his 
bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwell- 
ers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their 
proper tongue Aceldama, that is to say, the field of 
'Matt. 27: 6-10. •'Ex. 21: 32. 



JUDAS AFTER THE BETRAYAL. 119 

blood." x St. Luke in this account records the fulfilment 
of a prophecy by David. "Let his habitation be desolate, 
and let no man dwell therein : and his bishoprick let an- 
other take." 2 

These two accounts of the end of Judas can be har- 
monized. From the two descriptions we may conclude 
that the suicidal act was attended by a clumsy accident. 
The conclusion is that the body being suspended over a 
precipice, suddenly dropped by the snapping of the rope 
and was mangled in a shocking manner, dashing him to 
pieces, which made a profound impression on all who 
heard of it. The chief priests to whom the thirty pieces 
of silver had been returned, resolved to purchase the field, 
known as the potter's field, for the charitable purpose of 
burying strangers therein. But the public who heard of 
his death and the purchase of the field nicknamed it 
Acaldema. the field of blood. In the purchase of this 
field, the chief priests hoped to bury the remembrance of 
their own crime, but the people fastened this name upon it 
for a perpetual memorial. 

Judas' successor in the apostleship was Matthias, 3 who 

was chosen a few days after the Ascension of Jesus. 

After the Ascension of our Lord, the Eleven returned to 

Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, and waited there 

1 Acts i : 18-19. - Acts 1 : 20 ; Ps. 69: 25. 

sGreek, Matthias; Lat., S. Matlhaeus ; Ger., Matthias; French. 
St. Mathias; Ital., San Mattia. Matthias has been identified by 
Eusebius (H. E. i. 12) and Epiphanes as one of the "Seventy;" 
by Hilgenfeld with Nathanael. According to tradition his field of 
labour was in Ethiopia. There he evangelized the Ethiopian man- 
eaters from whom he is delivered by St. Andrew. According to 
another tradition he labours in Jerusalem and is buried there. His 
feast day is February twenty fourth. 



120 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

for the fulfilment of the promise made by Jesus. While 
they were waiting, at the suggestion of Peter, the assem- 
bled Christian brotherhood numbering about one hundred 
and twenty proceeded to select a successor to Judas. St. 
Peter applied a quotation made by David x concerning 
the death of Judas and the selection of his successor to 
the circumstances. "Men and brethren, this scripture 
must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by 
the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which 
was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was num- 
bered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry." 
Then the death of Judas and the purchase of the potter's 
field is described by Peter, who adds, 'Tor it is written 
in the Book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and 
let no man dwell therein : and his bishoprick let another 
take." 

On the initiative of St. Peter the selection was made. 
"They appointed two — Joseph called Barsabas, who was 
surnamed Justus, and Matthias." 2 After prayer for 
guidance and assistance the lot was cast, "and the lot fell 
upon Matthias ; and he was numbered with the eleven 
Apostles." 3 

In the Apocryphal works of the early Christian Church, 
Judas Iscariot occupies quite a large space. The Arabic 
Gospel of the Infancy represents Judas as possessed by 

!Ps. 109: 8. 2 Acts i: 23. 

s Acts 1: 26. Some have objected to the validity of this pro- 
ceeding upon several grounds : ( 1 ) because there is no express di- 
vine command recorded. To this we may answer that the com- 
mand is often left to be inferred from the recorded execution, and 
vice versa; (2) because Peter was habitually rash and forward, and 
the election was premature and unwarranted (Stier, Words of 
the Apostles) the outcome of Peter's impetuosity. To this ob- 
jection we may answer, that this election, although proposed by 



JUDAS AFTEE THE BETRAYAL. 121 

Satan at the birth of Jesus. He is represented as a de- 
moniac who bites. He tries to bite Jesus, but when he 
came into contact with Him, he could not ; for the demon 
always took flight. Judas, however, strikes Him in the 
shape of a mad dog. In the Gospel of Judas, the pos- 
session of an impious sect of the Gnostics, called Cainites, 
Judas the traitor is said to have known the truth as no 
other did. He is, therefore, regarded as the true Gnostic, 
and accomplished the mystery of the Betrayal, which is 
regarded by this sect as an excellent piece of work. 1 In 
the Acts of Thomas, the dragon or serpent is represented 
as saying, "I am he who inflamed and bribed Judas to 
deliver the Messiah to death." An account of the death 
of the serpent is given. It probably contains reminis- 
cences of the story of the death of Judas. After sucking- 
some poison, "the serpent began to swell," and ultimately 
"burst." 

In the Middle Ages legends concerning Judas have 

Peter, was no more his act than that of the whole Christian brother- 
hood ; (3) because the Holy Spirit was not yet given to qualify 
them for such functions. To this we may answer, that the election 
was really the act of neither Peter nor of the other Apostles, but of 
God Himself. The lot was cast, but the whole disposing thereof 
was of the Lord ; 1 4) because we read nothing more of Matthias in 
history. To this we may say, that history is equally silent as to 
most of the Apostles ; (5) because Paul is thus excluded from the 
number of the Twelve. Paul we might with more probability re- 
gard as the successor of James the Son of Zebedee. who was the 
first of the Apostles to die, and not of Judas Iscariot ; or that he 
was not one of the Twelve at all, but an additional Apostle for the 
Gentiles, as the Twelve were the Apostles of the circumcision. St. 
Dennis relates a legend of his selection. While lots were being 
cast for the election of Judas' successor, a beam of divine splendour 
pointed on Matthias, which the Apostles regarded as meaning his 
selection. 

1 Irenaeus, i. 31. 



122 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHK1ST. 

risen. They relate that he was of the tribe of Reuben. 
Before his birth, his mother had a dream, in which she 
dreamed that her son would murder his father, commit 
incest with his mother, and betray his God for money. 
His parents were horrified at this prospect and deter- 
mined to thwart the fulfilment of the dream. They de- 
termined to do away with him by putting- him into a chest 
and throwing the chest into the sea. Soon after the 
chest was washed to the shore and found by a certain 
king-, who took the child home and reared him as his son. 
The king had another son whom Judas killed because he 
hated him. After the murder he fled to Judaea and came 
to the court of Pontius Pilate, where he was employed 
as a page. Soon after he also fulfills his mother's dream 
by killing his father, and learns from his mother his early 
life. Filled with horror, and having heard of the power 
of the Christ to forgive sins, he seeks to become His 
follower. Jesus, without hesitation, receives him, know- 
ing all. In His company Judas adds avarice to his other 
vices and becomes so completely corrupt as to fit him for 
the awful destiny prophesied for him. The bribery, be- 
trayal, repentance and his death follow in these legends 
mostly according to the Scripture narrative. 

In some instances his repentance is most vividly pic- 
tured. Remorse is made to be a real person, who grabs 
and torments him, until he invokes Despair, another per- 
sonification, who brings to him all kinds of instruments 
of death, and bids him choose one of them. He is also 
represented with an imp seated on his shoulder, figuring 
Satan that entered into him. It is a Mohammedan belief 
that Judas in the likeness of Jesus was crucified instead 
of Jesus, after Jesus had ascended into Heaven. 



JUDAS AFTER THE BETRAYAL. L23 

The mode of his death has also heen a subject of tradi- 
tion. One tradition describes him as found hanging and 
thrown over a parapet of the Temple and dashed to 
pieces. An old miniature represents demons playing with 
his soul like a ball, tossing it from hand to hand. As a 
special judgment, his act of suicide was attended by his 
"bursting asunder." This happened, it was believed, in 
order that his soul should escape from his bowels, and not 
be breathed out through the lips that had betrayed the 
Christ. The effect of all these representations and exag- 
gerations of the vice of Judas is to place him outside the 
pale of humanity, but they are as untrue to the Evangel- 
ist's delineation of his character as are the attempts to 
brighten his character and explain away his sin. 



124 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

LEBBAEUS, THADDAEUS, JUDAS OF JAMES. 

VERY little do we know about the Apostle who bore 
the three names, Lebbaeus, Thaddaeus, 1 Judas. Mat- 
thew 2 calls him Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddaeus ; Mark 3 
names him Thaddaeus ; and Luke 4 calls him Judas of 
James, i. e., Judas the son of James. 

Concerning the name of the Apostle, there has been 
much discussion. The view which identifies St. Lebbaeus, 
surnamed Thaddaeus, with Thaddaeus of St. Mark's Gos- 
pel, and Judas of James, as well as the Judas, designated 
by St. John as "Judas not Iscariot" 5 may be regarded as 
a correct representation of this Apostle. He was prob- 
ably known indifferently as Judas, Thaddaeus or Leb- 
baeus. This Apostle who bares the triple name is com- 
monly known as Judas, or Jude. He is not to be iden- 
tified with Jude, the brother of the Lord, for the latter 
could not fulfill the conditions of eligibility to the Apos- 
tleship, as laid down in the words of St. Peter when a 
successor to Judas Iscariot was chosen by the Christian 
brotherhood. This condition required that an Apostle 
must be a man who accompanied the apostolic band dur- 
ing the time that the Lord labored, from His Baptism 
until the time that He was taken up into Heaven ; and who 

i Greek, Thaddaios; Latin, S. Thaddaeus; Ger., Thaddaeus; 
Ital., San Thaddeo; French, St. Thadee. 

'Matt, to: 3. ''Luke 6: 16; Acts 1: T3. 

3 Mark 3: 18. "'John 14: 22. 



ST. LEBBAEUS, THADDAEUS, JUDAS OF JAMES. 125 

had been a witness of His Resurrection. 1 Jude, the 
brother of our Lord, did not fulfill these two require- 
ments, for we are told that, like the rest of his brethren, 
he did not believe in Christ, till after the Resurrection. 
It has been suggested that Judas took the place of Thad- 
daeus, who was from Jerusalem, and of the tribe of 
Judah, and who had died during the Ministry of our 
Lord. 

Nothing whatever is recorded of Judas except the ques- 
tion recorded by St. John, who is very careful to distin- 
guish him from his namesake and better-known Apostle, 
Judas Iscariot the traitor. The incident referred to is 
the well-known question put to Jesus after He promised 
to send the Comforter. "Judas saith unto him, not Is- 
cariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself 
unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and 
said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words : 
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, 
and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not 
keepeth not my sayings : and the word which ye hear is 
not mint, but the Father's which sent me." 2 Judas could 
not understand, nor even the rest of his brethren, how the 
Kingdom was to come unless the Messiah would make a 
public disclosure of His glory. He imagined that Jesus 
would come again, corporeally, after His departure to 
the Father. Accordingly he imagined that He would be 
visible to the outward eye. He was not yet capable of 
conceiving a spiritual manifestation which would be to 
him, to his fellow- Apostles and to all disciples in future 
times, a full compensation for the loss they suffered when 
He departed from them corporeally. The answer of 
'Acts i : 21-22. s John 14: 5, 22-24. 



126 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Jesus shows that in the very nature of the case it is pos- 
sible for Him to reveal His glory even to disobedient un- 
believing and unloving hearts. The answer implied that 
they only need to trust in Him; to do only what He has 
said, "Love me ;" and what He promised them will come 
true. 

Not a single thing is known of the ultimate career and 
missionary work of this three-named disciple. Tradition 
has identified him with Judas, our Lord's brother, and as 
a brother of James the Less, and Joses. Accordingly he 
is supposed to be the author of the catholic or general 
Epistle to all the churches of the East which bears his 
name. No authentic record is preserved of the manner of 
his death. He is said, however, to have been killed with a 
halberd, which instrument is his attribute in works of 
art The 28th of October is set aside in the calendar as 
a day of feast for this Apostle, as well as for Simon the 
Cananaean. 



ST. MATTHEW. 127 



CHAPTER XVII. 
MATTHEW THE SON OF ALPHAEUS. 

BEFORE their call none of the Apostles could have 
enjoyed better opportunities for seeing the mighty 
and wonderful works of the Prophet of Nazareth; none 
could have been better privileged to hear and quietly med- 
itate over the teachings of the Christ than Matthew, 1 a 
citizen of Capernaum. 2 

Sometime before Matthew's call to discipleship our 
Lord selected Capernaum as His place of abode. The 
quiet town of Nazareth, where He had lived so many 
years before His public Ministry began and where He 
lived the quiet religious life with His parents, was ex- 
changed for the busy town of Capernaum, which lay on 
the coast of the Galilean Sea, where He was sure to come 
in contact with different classes of people. After His 
Baptism and first miracle, He made a brief visit to His 
native town, but as soon as the Baptist was executed He 
left Nazareth and selected Capernaum as His place of 
abode and centre of operation. From this fact the town 
came to be called " his own city." 3 

It was not long after Capernaum was selected as His 
place of abode, when the whole town was moved by 

i Greek, Malthaios, from Heb., Mittithyah, (Gift of Jehovah) ; 
Lat. , Mattkaeus; Ger., Der heilige Matthaeus; French, St. Matthieu ; 
ltal., San Matteo. 

2 Mark 2 : 1, 14 ; Matt. 9:1,9. s Matt. 9 : 1. 



128 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

what it heard and saw. No Galilean town was more privi- 
leged to see the angels of God — the spirits of wisdom and 
power and love — ascending and descending upon the Son 
of Man, as was promised Nathanael Bartholomew. All 
the towns along the coast of the Sea of Galilee had seen 
wonderful things, but Capernaum, "his own city" eclipsed 
them all. This we infer from the complaint afterward 
uttered by Jesus against Capernaum, because of its fail- 
ure to repent. "Thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto 
heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty 
works which have been done in thee had been done in 
Sodom, it would have remained until this day." 1 Of the 
more important miracles and wonders performed in Ca- 
pernaum by Jesus, the Evangelists record the following : 
Simon Peter's mother-in-law cured of a fever ; 2 the serv- 
ant of the centurion healed ; 3 an unclean spirit cast out ; 4 
the palsied healed, 5 and the daughter of Jairus, ruler of 
the synagogue, brought to life again. 6 Besides these 
miracles the people of Capernaum were privileged to hear 
in their synagogue His discourse on "the bread of life." ' 
In Capernaum also the lesson of humility was taught 
from a child set in the midst. 8 Of course, it is certain 
that not all of these miracles were wrought, nor the les- 
sons taught, before the call of Matthew, but some of them 
certainly were. 

From this fact we may conclude that St. Matthew p< >s- 
sessed some previous knowledge of the Christ. Being 
fellow-townsmen, they had opportunity of seeing each 
other before and perhaps also of speaking to one an- 

iMatt. ii : 23. s Matt. 9: 1-2 ; Mark 2 : 1-3. 

2 Mark 1 : 30-31. 6 Luke 8 : 54. 

5 Matt. 8:5; Luke 7 : 1 ff. " John 6 : 24-59. 

* Mark 1 : 23; Luke 4 : 33. 8 Matt. 18: 2 ; Mark 9: 33, 36. 



ST. MATTHEW. 129 

other. His ready response to the call of Jesus, "Follow 

me," also speaks of this. But what we have to account 

for is the call of Matthew, a publican, 1 to discipleship, 

and the immediate response it received. His occupation as 

tax collector, no doubt, helped to some degree to bring the 

two together. Along the northern end of the Galilean Sea, 

there was an important commercial road leading from 

the famous ancient city of Damascus, to another famous 

city on the Mediterranean Sea — Acre. On that very road 

a custom office, in which Matthew was employed, marked 

the boundary between the territories of Herod Antipas 

and Philip the tetrarch. The occupation of Matthew in 

this custom office was to examine the goods and freight 

which passed along this road and to levy a toll upon 

them. 2 At or near the point where the custom office was 

situated was also the landing place or "harbor" for the 

vessels that carried freight across the lake, or from town 

to town. Nearby Jesus must f requently~ have spoken to 

the multitude from out of a ship or on the shore, as the 

people of Capernaum came out to hear Him. In order. 

to get to the shore, Jesus must often have gone by the 

custom house and seen Matthew, the publican, probably 

spoken to him. In his leisure hours Matthew could easily 

have heard from his custom office the Master as He taught 

by the seaside. In this way Matthew was being prepared 

for his call to discipleship. Listening, as he often did to 

the Master as He taught, his conscience was aroused, he 

came to possess a dim, scarcely half-avowed hope of 

something better. He saw and realized that the Prophet 

of Nazareth was so different from those harsh leaders 

and teachers of Israel, who refused any dealings with the 

J Matt. 10: 3. 5 cf. Hausrath, N. T. Times ii. 1. 

9 



130 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

publicans and classed them as sinners. And thus it hap- 
pened that when the call of Jesus came to him, "Follow 
me," it acted on his heart like a spell. "He left all" — 
books, pen, desk, money and office — "rose up and fol- 
lowed him." 1 

Publicans were men engaged in collecting the custom 
dues on exports. They were very unpopular in Palestine 
and excited the scorn of the Jews, partly because they 
were servants of the hated Roman Government. If he 
was a Jew, as was Matthew, 'he was condemned for im- 
purity by the Pharisees and classed as a sinner. For a 
Jew to engage in collecting the revenue that went to the 
support of the foreign government was regarded as pe- 
culiarly mean and unpatriotic. A Jew serving as a pub- 
lican was prevented from fulfilling the requirements of 
the law and was compelled to violate the Sabbath Law, 
which the Gentiles, who conveyed their goods through the 
Galilean towns did not observe. Consequently men who 
had a due regard for their own good name would shrink 
from accepting the office. The occupation of a publican 
itself associated him with men who everywhere in the 
empire were despised for extortion and fraud. They 
were usually rich men and acquired their wealth from the 
spoils which they wrung from their brethren. Such, no 
doubt, St. Matthew had been before his call. All became 
different when, in response to Jesus' call, he left all, rose 
up and followed Him. 

The publican Matthew is identical with the publican 

whom Mark and Luke called Levi. The identification of 

Matthew with Levi is based on the three accounts of the 

feast which the publican gave in Jesus' honor after his 

!Luke 5: 28. 



ST. MATTHEW. 131 

call. The Synoptists are agreed in their account of the 
feast associated with the publican who is named Matthew 
in the first Gospel, and Levi in Mark and Luke. 1 He was 
the son of Alphaeus. 2 In Levi Matthew we have an in- 
stance of a person bearing two names — the one a strictly- 
Jewish name and the other a Galilean. This was not 
uncommon in Galilee, although Levi may have been the 
original, and Matthew the acquired name — his name as a 
disciple and Apostle. 

The call of St. Matthew was soon followed by a feast 
in his house. The feast was given in honor of Jesus. 3 
How soon after the call this feast took place is uncertain, 
probably almost immediately after. The reason why 
Matthew gave this feast in honor of the Christ cannot be 
determined from the Gospel narrative. The description 
of the feast, however, may furnish some hints. At the 
feast were both Jesus and the disciples, and from Mat- 
thew's record we learn that there was a great company of 
"publicans and sinners" that "came and sat down with 
him and his disciples." 4 The disciples present were those 
who eagerly listened to His teaching, but who had not 
been specially called as those who afterwards became His 
Apostles. These disciples were many in number. 5 The 
sinners present were those who violated the Law of 
Moses, or those who did not try to keep its innumerable 
commandments, as set forth by the Scribes or interpreted 
by the Pharisees. From this strange gathering at the 
feast we conclude that Matthew intended it to be either a 
farewell occasion to his fellow-publicans, since he and 

1 Matt. 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5 : 29. 

"Mark 2 : 14. Not to be identified with the father of James 

the Less. 
s Luke5: 29. * Matt 9: 10. 5 Mark 2: 15. 



132 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHKIST. 

they were parting company, he having chosen the "better 
way." Or, it may have been that Matthew, by means of 
this feast, wished to bring his fellow-publicans in contact 
with Jesus, so that they might hear and see Him for 
themselves, and perhaps quit their former occupation as 
he did, and choose a better one. And yet it seemed also 
as if Matthew intended that this feast should celebrate 
the important step he had taken — a kind of a commem- 
orative feast, at which Matthew desired to pay homage to 
his Master. 

There were also certain Scribes and Pharisees who 
had witnessed the proceedings and the guests of the feast. 
They were, as usual, finding fault with Jesus, because of 
His attitude toward the assembled guests. They, there- 
fore, put to His disciples the question concerning His eat- 
ing and drinking with sinners. Jesus Himself answered 
them by declaring that He had not come into the world to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 

Nothing else is recorded of St. Matthew in the Scrip- 
tures. Matthew is known to all the Christian world as an 
Evangelist. Eusebius states that he wrote his Gospel 
only under the stress of necessity, that after preaching 
to the Hebrews, he decided also to preach to others. Be- 
fore leaving, he wrote his Gospel in his native language, 
and in this way retrieved them for the loss of his pres- 
ence. 

According to tradition, Matthew was quite busy after 
the separation of the Apostles. He is said to have 
preached twenty-three years in Egypt and Ethiopia. In 
the latter country he was honorably entertained at the 
capital by the Eunuch which Philip the Evangelist had 
baptized. In Egypt he is supposed to have raised from 



ST. MATTHEW. 133 

the dead the son of the king and to have cured Iphigenia, 
his daughter, of leprosy. This woman he placed at the 
head of a society of young maidens dedicated to the serv- 
ice of God. Some time after a heathenish king deter- 
mined to take Iphigenia away and for this impious act 
his palace was burned, while he became a leper. In 
Ethiopia lived two skillful magicians who put many of 
the people under their spells and afflicted them with divers 
dreadful diseases. The Evangelist, upon hearing this, 
soon put an end to their sorcery by baptizing the people, 
when the power of the scorcers failed. The legends con- 
cerning his death vary; the Greek legends state that he 
died a peaceful death; the Western legends represent 
him as suffering martyrdom in the time of Domitian by 
the sword. Another legend states that he was condemned 
to death by a Jewish court. The date of his death is sup- 
posed to have been September 21, 90, A. D. 



134 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

ST. PHILIP. 

IN the person of Philip, 1 the first-called disciple, 3 we 
have a man who was a diligent searcher. He was an 
earnest inquirer after truth and had an inquirer's sym- 
pathy with all others who might be in a similar state of 
mind. In his searchings ani inquiries he may have been 
a little slow and deliberate in arriving at decision. This 
delineation of Philip's character we derive from the va- 
rious incidents recorded in St. John's Gospel, where he 
plays an important part. 

Philip was a native of Bethsaida, of Galilee, 3 the birth- 
place of Andrew and Simon Peter. The Evangelist seems 
to take particular pains to mention this fact, as if indicat- 
ing that the three were well known to each other, even be- 
fore we find them at the scene of the Baptist's preaching. 
He bore a Greek name, which makes it possible that he 
was of Greek descent. In all likelihood he was a disciple 
of John the Baptist ; as were also Andrew and Peter, his 
fellow-townsmen. The reason for this assertion we may 
find in the fact that his call took place near Bethabara, 
beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing ; 4 and also 
because he was called the day after Andrew and John fol- 

1 Greek, Philippos (lover of horses), from philein, to love, and 
hippos, horse; Latin, S. Philippic; Ger., Der heilige Philip; Ital., San 
Philippo Apostolo ; French, St. Philippe. 

3 John i : 43. 3 John 1 : 44; 12: 21. <John 1 : 28-43. 



ST. PHILIP. 135 

lowed Jesus and just before Jesus proposed to leave that 
region for His native land. Like the others, Philip must 
have been prepared by the Baptist for the coming of "the 
Lamb of God." For when Jesus found him and ad- 
dressed to him the first direct call, which, so far as we 
know, He addressed to any man, Philip immediately re- 
sponded. 1 

As Jesus "found" Philip — not by accident but evidently 
as the result of deliberate search — so Philip went out to 
"find" Nathanael. He kept not to himself the precious 
Treasure he had found, but went out to seek his friend 
Nathanael, with whom he is willing to share the Treas- 
ure. He thus shows himself endued with the genuine 
missionary spirit — making disciples of the Christ. Hav- 
ing found the object of his search, he said to him, "We 
have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the 
prophets, did write, Jesus of -Nazareth, the son of Jo- 
seph." 2 

The words of Philip indicate that he and Nathanael 
must frequently have discussed trie Old Testament de- 
scription of the Messiah. 3 At this time, Philip would 
know nothing of the Virgin-birth at Bethlehem. He 
would describe Jesus as He was commonly known — 
"Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." The very min- 
uteness and precision of his words prove the statement 
already made that he was a very diligent searcher and in- 
quirer. They speak to a careful and conscientious search. 
He was a man of an anxious and careful turn of mind. 

Unable to give a full direct answer to Nathanael's ques- 
tion, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth," 

ijohn i : 43-45. 2 John 1: 45. 

* Especially Gen. 17 : 7 ; 49 : ro ; Deut. 18: 15. 



136 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

he simply asks him to "come and see." Xathanael finds 
no objection to this experimental evidence — he comes, 
and thus Philip is the means of his friend's coming to the 
Master. 1 Philip is ever ready to submit all prejudices and 
doubts to the test of actual experience. 

In the miracle of the Feeding of the Five-Thousand 
with five loaves and two fishes, Philip plays an important 
part. In the conversation between Jesus and His disciples 
that preceded the feeding, Jesus asked Philip the question, 
"Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" 2 Dif-' 
ferent opinions were given by the disciples. Some of 
them were of the opinion that the multitude should be 
sent away that they might secure their own supplies. 
"When the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto 
him and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is 
far passed : Send them away, that they may go into the 
villages, and buy themselves bread : for they have nothing 
to eat." 3 Others of the disciples suggested that some of 
them be sent to the nearest town and purchase as much 
supply as could be gotten for two hundred pence. "Shall 
we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and 
give them to eat?" 4 In their anxiety, Jesus said to His 
disciples, "They need not depart; give them to eat." 
Thinking how a single meal to such a multitude would ex- 
haust their capital, the two hundred pence which was 
probably the sum then in their common treasury, Philip 
answered Him, "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is 
not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take 
a little." 5 Just then Andrew came with the tidings. 
"There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves, and 

1 John i : 46-47. 4 Mark 6 : 37. 

5 John 6 : 5. 5 John 6: 7. 

•Mark 6: 35-36. 



ST. PHILIP. 137 

two small fishes." 1 But just as if that were ample pro- 
vision, Jesus bade them bring it, and the five thousand 
were miraculously fed. 

The prompt reply of Philip to our Lord's question, 
"Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat," shows 
that Philip had expected that our Lord would have com- 
passion on the multitude and feed the people in the wilder- 
ness. He, therefore, privately figured up how much 
money would be required for the great multitude. He 
came to the conclusion that two hundred pence were not 
sufficient; he never once thought of the Christ's mirac- 
ulous power. St. John expressly remarks that Jesus asked 
him the question to "prove him, for he himself knew what 
he would do." 2 The Lord knew Philip's character — his 
cautious and deliberate disposition, and that he had not 
yet shown himself capable of strong faith in his Lord. 

The next time that we find Philip on the stage of the 
Gospel history he plays the part of an intercessor between 
certain Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to worship at 
the feast, and Jesus. It was the last week of our Lord's 
Ministry before His death. He had already made His 
Triumphal Entry into the Holy City. It was, according 
to prophecy, the time when all things written concerning 
the Son of Man should be fulfilled. He was just on the 
point of being rejected by His own people, but sought 
after and searched by the Gentile, of which the Greeks 
were representatives. This strange proceeding on the 
part of God's ancient people, St. John, who introduces 
the narrative, plainly shows, when, immediately after 
quoting a slurring remark made by the leaders of the peo- 
ple, "Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold the 

1 John 6 : 9. , John 6 : 6. 



138 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

world is gone after him," l he says, "And there were 
certain Greeks among them, that came np to worship at 
the feast : The same came therefore to Philip, which was 
of Bethsaida, of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we 
would see Jesus." 2 We cannot clearly state why these 
Greeks went to Philip. Philip is a Greek name and was 
probably given to him in honor of Philip the tetrach. 
Probably Philip was of Greek descent and may have been 
either related to the Greeks or previously acquainted with 
these inquirers. The Greeks probably thought that in 
their choice of him they might be introduced more easily 
to the Saviour. 

It is in entire accord with his sympathetic inquiring dis- 
position that these Greek worshippers should select Philip 
as their intercessor with the Christ. But why does he 
first consult his fellow-disciple Andrew about the mat- 
ter? In keeping with his character, he would not act on 
his own responsibility, but laid the request before Andrew 
to see whether the request should be made. Then, too, 
when they decided that Jesus would be glad to receive 
them, and they, accordingly, went to tell Him, Philip 
goes not as the leader or spokesman, but he lets Andrew 
occupy the foremost place. "Philip cometh and telleth 
Andrew : and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus." 3 

The last time that Philip is introduced is on the night 
before the Passion, when, before all the disciples, he said 
to his Master, "Lord, show us the Father, and it sufliceth 
us." 4 This was a most important request. But what a 
request! The request certainly shows that during their 
intercourse with Jesus, the disciples had gained very lit- 
^ohn 12: 19. 'John 12: 22. 

s John 12: 20-21. 4 John 14: 8. 



ST. PHILIP. 139 

tie satisfaction in Him. They were expecting then a 
sight of the Father, thinking that that would be sufficient. 
Yet, they knew not that they had what they were expect- 
ing. With him, as with the rest of the disciples, ''seeing 
was believing." He could not believe that any real knowl- 
edge of the Father was possible except such as resulted 
from an actual theophany. He proved in his request how 
ignorant and blinded he had been to that higher man- 
ifestation of which he had for so long been witness, of 
the words and acts of the Saviour. This is implied in the 
answer of Jesus, "Have I been so long time with you, 
and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath 
seen me hath seen the Father ; and how sayest thou then, 
Shew us the Father?" 1 

The fact that in the New Testament after the Ascen- 
sion of the Christ we have the name of Philip the Evan- 
gelist, involves the work oi Philip the Apostle in great 
confusion. There are two apocryphal works bearing Phil- 
ip's name — The Journeyings of Philip the Apostle and 
the Acts of Philip. According to the testimony of Poly- 
carp, bishop of Ephesus, "Philip one of the Twelve" lived 
in Asia Minor, and is buried at Hieropolis along with his 
two aged virgin daughters. He also adds that another 
daughter "who lived in fellowship with the Holy Ghost" 
was buried at Ephesus. 

Before Philip settled in Hieropolis, where he died, 
tradition states that he preached the Gospel in Scythia for 
twenty years. Then going to Hieropolis, he is said to 
have found the people worshipping a huge serpent, which 
they thought to be a personification of Mars. Philip at 
once determined to rid the people of the superstition, held 
i John 14. : 9. 



140 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

up the cross and commanded the serpent to disappear. 
Immediately the serpent glided from beneath the altar 
and, as it departed, it sent forth so dreadful an odor that 
many died. Among the dead was the king's son, whom 
Philip immediately restored. But the priests of this ser- 
pent-worship were wroth with Philip and crucified him. 
After he was crucified, they stoned him. St. Philip's day 
is observed in the Western, or Roman Church, on the 
first day of May, together with the feast of St. James the 
Minor. In the Eastern, or Greek Church, his day is No- 
vember the fourteenth. 



SIMON PETER. 141 



CHAPTER XIX. 

SIMON PETER. 

SIMON PETER 1 is the greatest of the Twelve Apos- 
tles. His life is of great interest and importance to 
us, as giving us an understanding of the character and 
traits of most of the disciples. Were it not for Peter 
we would have scanty knowledge of their views, hopes, 
prejudices, traits, words and acts. Among the Twelve 
he is the most representative. In him we have, to a cer- 
tain extent, the kind of men chosen deliberately by our 
Lord as His companions and Apostles for the great work 
already undertaken. 

The characteristic traits of St. Peter, as brought out in 
the Gospel narrative were candor, open-mindedness, and 
especially impetuosity. His freedom of speech naturally 
made him the spokesman and leader of the apostolic cir- 
cle on nearly all occasions. The naturalness, vigor and 
buoyancy of his personality appeals strongly to our hearts,, 
while his large and genial humanity is very attractive. In 
works of art St. Peter is represented as a strong man, 
old, with a curly, silvery beard and gray hair. His fore- 

1 This Apostle bears the names Simon and Peter or Cephas. 
Simon is the Greek name substituted for the old|Hebre\v name 
Symeon. Peter, from Greek Petros ; Lat, St. Petrus ; German, 
Petrus; Ital., San Pietro ; or Piero ; Span., San Pedro; French, 
St. Pierre. 



142 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

head is broad; his face has the expression of courage and 
confidence. 

It is best to divide the life of St. Peter into two parts, 
making the Ascension of Jesus the dividing line. 

The name of St. Peter's father is either Jona x or 
John, 2 or possibly Jonas John ; that of his mother is tra- 
ditionally Johanna. Peter is described in the Gospels, 
both before and after the Resurrection of Jesus, as a fish- 
erman on the Galilean Sea. He was a resident of the town 
of Capernaum, where he possessed a house, 3 although he 
was a native of Bethsaida, where Philip was born. 4 He 
pursued his occupation as fisherman in company with his 
brother Andrew, and James and John as partners. It is 
likely that he possessed some property, yet he was not 
rich. From his later life we may assume that he was 
brought up by his parents to be pious, diligent, frugal and 
temperate. He was not an ignorant man, for from his 
birthplace he had the opportunity of becoming acquainted 
with colloquial Greek and Greek culture. It appears from 
the Gospel history that Peter was married, even in the 
earliest period of his association with Jesus. St. Luke 
informs us that Jesus "arose out of the synagogue, and 
entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother 
was taken with a great fever," 5 whom He healed. Whether 
he had any children is not known. Since he is represented 
as a married man when our Lord's Ministry began, we 
may safely say he was born about the same time as Jesus. 
In all probability, Simon Peter, like his brother An- 

!Matt. 16: 17. 

»John 1 : 4 2 ; 2I : I 5, l6 , J 7- 

3 Matt. 8: 5, 14; Mark 1 : ai, 29 ; Luke 4: 31-38. 

* John 1 : 44- 

5 Luke 4 : 38 ; cf. Mark 1 : 30 ; Matt. 8:14. 



SIMON PETER. 143 

drew, was a disciple of John the Baptist; for when An- 
drew found Jesus and followed Him and abode with Him 
that day, we are told, that he "first findeth his own brother 
Simon," 1 who, no doubt, was very close to the scene. We 
must remember that at this time Peter and Andrew lived 
in Capernaum, but, attracted by the Baptist's preaching, 
they had left Capernaum for a while and were at Betha- 
bara, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 
When Simon was brought by his brother into the pres- 
ence of his future Master, Jesus, we are told, "beheld 
him," fixed upon him a piercing scrutinizing gaze, and ex- 
claimed, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be 
called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." 2 

The friendship thus formed between Jesus and Peter 
soon passed into discipleship and permanent fellowship. 
After continuing for some time with Jesus, Peter and 
Andrew returned to their home and accustomed occupa- 
tion. Soon after our Lord began His public Ministry in 
Galilee, He summoned the two brothers from their nets 
to a permanent discipleship. They were to become, 
in His own striking language, "fishers of men." This 
call was immediately obeyed by the brothers, 3 and fol- 
lowed by that of two other brothers — James and John — 
their partners in the fishing trade. 4 

This scene of Peter's call was followed shortly by an- 
other, at probably the same place. It was while these 
same four fishermen were returning in the morning from 
a fruitless fishing trip on the Sea of Galilee, that Jesus 
Jjohn i : 41-42. 

2 John 1 : 42. Cephas is a Syriac word, the correspond- 
ing w Greek word is Fetros (Peter) meaning a stone. 

3 Matt. 4: 18-20; Mark 1 : 16-18. 

4 Matt. 4: 21-22 ; Mark 1 : 19-20. 



144 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

came to the shore of the lake where the multitude of the 
people who had assembled to hear Him preach, pressed 
around Him. Jesus spied two ships moored near the 
shore (the fishermen had gone out to wash their nets), 
and entering one of them, which happened to be Simon 
Peter's, requested him to thrust out a little from the 
shore, when He sat down, and taught the people from the 
boat. After the discourse Jesus said to Simon Peter, 
"Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a 
draught." 1 They had toiled all night, but had been un- 
successful. At the direction of Jesus, however. Simon 
and his partner did as commanded, with the result that 
now they were rewarded with an unusual draught, which 
appeared to them as miraculous. No more had Simon 
Peter beheld the miraculous catch than he fell down at 
Jesus' knees, exclaiming, "Depart from me; for I am a 
sinful man, O Lord." 2 

The call of Peter to Apostleship must have occurred 
about six months after the incident at Lake Gennesaret. 
From now on Peter was in daily fellowship with the 
Christ, in daily contemplation of His acts and words, 
both public and private. It is during this period that we 
have so many notices, so many words and acts of him — 
a period during which he acts as the spokesman and leader 
of the apostolic company, the interpreter of the Apostles' 
desires, words, hopes and purposes. Many words spoken 
by our Lord to him, or uttered by Peter are preserved in 
the Gospels as having occurred in this period ; and in sev- 
eral of the miracles of our Lord he occupies a unique 
place. 

The history of St. Peter during the period of Apostle- 
iLuke 5 : 4. j Luke 5 : i-u. 



SIMON PETEE. 145 

ship we may divide into four periods. The first period 
we may extend from the time of his call to the Apostle- 
ship until the Transfiguration of Jesus. The second pe- 
riod may cover the time from the Transfiguration until 
the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The third 
period may cover the week of the Passion of our Lord. 
The fourth period may begin with the Resurrection of 
Jesus and end with His Ascension. In every one of these 
periods, except the last. Peter is connected at least on one 
occasion with two others of the most prominent disciples. 
During the first period, from the call to Apostleship 
to the Transfiguration, Peter especially appears as the 
spokesman of the Twelve. The only exception to this is 
on the occasion when, with James and John, he is per- 
mitted to see a revelation of the Christ as Life at the 
Raising of Jairus' daughter. 1 This revelation took place 
immediately after the selection of the Twelve and before 
their first attempt at Evangelization. The main object 
of the Christ during this period was to prove the faith 
of His chosen companions. The first occasion for the 
proving of the faith of the Twelve was the Storm on the 
Sea of Galilee. After the Feeding of the Five-Thousand, 
Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship and go 
before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multi- 
tude away. When the multitude was sent away, "He 
went up into a mountain apart to pray : and when the 
evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship," 
in which the disciples had departed, "was now in the 
midst of the sea, tossed with waves : for the wind was 
contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus 
went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the 
1 Matt 9: 18-26 ; Mark 5 : 22-43 : L"ke g. 41-56. 
10 



140 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, 
saying, It is a spirit ; and they cried out for fear. But 
straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, Be of good 
cheer, it is I ; be not afraid." What passed through the 
mind of Peter at this time no doubt passed through the 
minds of all the disciples. No more did Peter realize 
that the supposed phantom was his own Master and Lord 
than he cried out, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto 
thee on the water." 1 His words do not contain the least 
spark of faith, but are the expression of rashness, which 
characterizes the Apostle on so many occasions. 

At Capernaum, we are told by St. John, 2 that many of 
Jesus' disciples left Him because of His hard sayings 
about the "bread of life." Jesus, perceiving the apostacy. 
turned to the Twelve and asked them if they too were 
thinking of going away. Undismayed and unmoved by 
the rapid decline of his Lord's popularity, Peter at once 
answered for the rest, affirming Him to be the only pos- 
sessor of the words of eternal life, and the Holy One of 
God. i; Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of 
eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art 
that Christ, the Son of the living God." This exclama- 
tion of St. Peter, which was the uppermost thought in the 
minds of the rest, affirms their faith in their Lord as su- 
perior to all other religious teachers ; as the source of 
divine and life-giving revelation; and as the embodiment 
of divine Holiness. 

Not long after this exclamation of St. Peter at Caper- 
naum, Jesus withdrew with His disciples into the region 
of Caesarea Philippi, where He privately put to the 

l Matt. 14 : 22-33 ; Mark 6: 45-51 ; John 6 : 16-21. 
1 John 6 : 60-69. 



SIMON PETEE. 147 

Twelve two questions. The first question was, "Whom 
do men say that I the Son of Man am?" 1 Nearly all 
the disciples contributed something to this question. They 
had heard, at various times and at different places, the 
Person of Jesus discussed ; they had heard various opin- 
ions. Their answers implied that, on the whole, Jesus 
ceased to be regarded by the common people as the Mes- 
siah, and was only assigned the subordinate place of fore- 
runner. "Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, 
Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." The 
second question of Jesus was, "But whom say ye that I 
am?" The answer of Peter is the answer of all. "Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Here again 
Peter is their natural spokesman. His confession was 
uttered without a moment's hesitation and was the result 
of his constant intercourse with his Lord. It is evident 
that our Lord was deeply stirred by this declaration, and 
acknowledged that the speaker was endowed with spirit- 
ual insight and capacity, which qualified him for the im- 
portant service in the Kingdom of God, to which He had 
called him. He, therefore, answered the confession with 
a beatitude (the only beatitude so far as we know ever 
bestowed on an individual by our Lord ) , addressed to 
the spokesman, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for 
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my 
Father which is in heaven." Then, as the revealed Mes- 
siah of God, our Lord revealed to the Twelve the future 
of the Messianic Kingdom in His striking words, "Thou 
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will 
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and 
iMatt. 16 : n. 



148 the twelve apostles of jesus Christ. 

whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in 
heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be 
loosed in heaven." 1 

After this most noble avowal of St. Peter, our Lord 
proceeded to reveal to the Twelve the divine mystery of 
the plan of salvation and the future course of the Mes- 
siah. The Messiah was to pass through two states — one 
of humiliation, which was to begin in His rejection by the 
leaders and representatives of the Jewish nation, culminat- 
ing in His death; and a state of exaltation, which would 
be manifested in His glorious Resurrection. 2 Though 
Peter had grasped the eternal truth of the Messiahship of 
Jesus, he was still in ignorance as to its real conception. 
He, like the rest of the Jews, clung to the current idea of 
the Messiah as a political ruler, not a religious leader. 
He was shocked by the idea of the Messiah suffering and 
dying, and began to rebuke the Lord saying, "Be it far 
from thee, Lord : this shall not be unto thee." 3 But this 
remonstrance drew from the lips of the Saviour the awful 
rebuke, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence 
unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, 
but those that be of men." 4 For this remonstrance, our 
Lord felt that he needed a public rebuke. But what a 
contrast between the confession of Peter and His rebuke. 
He who had been pronounced the rock foundation of the 
Messiah, has become an offence, a stumbling block; he 
who was capable of receiving the revelation of the Fa- 
ther regarding the Messiah, was also capable of being 
wholly earthly-minded ; he who had been pronounced 

1 Matt. 16 : 13-19 ; Mark 8 : 27-29; Luke 9 : 18-20. 
2 Matt. 16 : 21. 4 Matt. 16 ; 23. 

s Matt. 16 : 22. 



SIMON PETER. 149 

"blessed" and received words of commendation from his 
Lord, was also severely rebuked by the same Lord. 

The beginning of the second part of the period of 
Apostleship is marked by an event in which again only 
three — Peter, James, and John, the most eminent of the 
Twelve — were taken into confidence by their Lord — the 
Transfiguration of Jesus. It was only a week after the 
events at Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus took Peter, James, 
and John apart into a high mountain, and there revealed 
Himself as the Glory of God. Jesus "was transfigured 
before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his 
raiment was white as the light." "And, behold, there 
talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias : 
who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he 
should accomplish at Jerusalem." When Peter heard them 
converse with Jesus of His decease at Jerusalem — His 
Passion and Death, before His reception into glory and 
victory — he said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be 
here : and let us make three tabernacles ; one for thee, and 
one for Moses, and one for Elias : not knowing what he 
said." He little understood how that the Christ must 
suffer at the hands of the Scribes and leaders of the peo- 
ple and be crucified and die and rise again to glory. His 
request implied that he wanted Jesus to escape all this, by 
remaining on the mountain with the saints in glory with 
whom He had been conversing. 1 

During the remainder of this period Peter appears 
apart from the rest of the Twelve, but always in con- 
versation with his Master. At Capernaum, where both 
Jesus and Peter had their homes and were well known, 
the collector of the tribute money asks Peter the question, 
1 Matt. 17 : i-5 ; Luke 9: 28-36. 



150 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

"Doth not your Master pay tribute? He saith yes." 
Peter, upon entering his home, was told by Jesus to go to 
the sea, and in the mouth of the first fish that he would 
catch, he would find a piece of money sufficient as tribute 
money for both Himself and Peter. 1 On the next occa- 
sion Peter is represented as asking Jesus questions; first, 
in regard to the application of the parable of the Faithful 
Servant; 2 then, concerning the number of times a brother 
should be forgiven ; 3 and lastly as to the reward the 
Twelve should receive because of their absolute self-denial 
and self-renunciation of all earthly things. 4 

During the week of the Passion St. Peter plays more or 
less a prominent part. It is probable that one or two of 
the disciples whom Jesus sent to Bethphage to fetch the 
ass and colt on which He made His Triumphal Entry into 
Jerusalem was Peter. 5 About two days after the Tri- 
umphal Entry, as the apostolic company passed by a cer- 
tain fig tree which had become withered, St. Peter calls 
his Master's attention to this tree. 6 Later, on the same 
day, as our Lord arrived at the Mount of Olives and sur- 
veyed from its summit the Holy City, St. Peter, with 
three other disciples — James, John, and Andrew — sur- 
rounded Him and questioned Him as to the time of the 
fulfilment of the prophecy He had just made concerning 
the Holy City. 7 This is not the first time these four disci- 
ples are reported together in the Gospel history. We find 

1 Matt. 17 : 24-27. 
a Luke 12 : 41. 

3 Matt. 18 : 21. 

4 Matt. 19 : 27 ; Mark 10 : 28; Luke 18 : 28. 

s Matt. 21 : 1-2; Mark 11 : 1-2 ; Luke 19 : 29-30. 

6 Matt. 21 : 20; Mark n : 20-21. 

' Matt. 24 : 3 ; Mark 13 : 3-4 ; Luke 21 : 7. 



SIMON PETEE. 151 

these four together at the beginning of our Lord's Min- 
istry on the occasion of the Healing of Peter's mother- 
in-law of a fever. 1 Two days after the questionings of 
the four disciples on the Mount of Olives, Peter and John 
are sent by our Lord to prepare the Passover. 2 During 
the meal Peter refuses to allow his Lord to humble Him- 
self when He was about to wash his feet. 3 It was Peter 
who beckoned to John to inquire of Jesus to whom He 
had referred as the traitor. 4 Immediately after the meal 
St. Peter, conscious of his devotion to his Master, de- 
clared that though all men should be offended in Him, he 
never will, but would die for His sake. By this declara- 
tion he drew from the Saviour's lips the sorrowful an- 
nouncement that he would deny Him thrice. Still the 
Saviour declares that He has interceded for him, and 
made earnest supplication that his faith might not fail. 

When our Lord reached Gethsemane with the Eleven 
we find the three — Peter, James, and John — together for 
the third and last time. Jesus took them aside and re- 
vealed to them a knowledge of the mystery of His hu- 
man sorrow and sufferings, and of His obedience to His 
heavenly Father. Returning to the three, after He had 
departed from them a short distance for prayer. He re- 
bukes Peter because of his and his companions' inability 
to watch with Him one hour. He contrasts this inability 
on the part of Peter with his former boastful language, 
when he declared his willingness and readiness to follow 

1 Mark i : 29. 

2 Luke 22 : 8. 

3 John 13 : 4-9- 

4 John 13 : 21-24. 

5 Mark 14: 29-31 ; John 13 : 36-38. 



152 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Him to death. 1 As soon as the Lord is captured in the 
garden, Peter, seeing the danger by which His Lord and 
his fellow-disciples were surrounded, quickly asked Jesus, 
"Lord, shall we smite with the sword?" and before re- 
ceiving an answer he cut off the ear of the servant of the 
high priest. 2 

When Jesus was led away to the residence of the high 
priest, Peter followed at a distance. It was only his love 
for his Master that induced him to go. He was per- 
plexed and in fear for himself as he went, and ashamed 
because of his flight at the capture of his Lord. He soon 
met John, who brought him into the court of the high 
priest's residence. In the court Peter, unarmed and off 
his guard, three times declares that he knows nothing 
whatever of his Master on trial. As soon as the cock in 
the courtyard crowed the second time, he met the eyes of 
his Master as He was being led through the hall from one 
room to another, and he recalled to mind the prophecy of 
the Christ. The sense of his guilt and sin became intol- 
erable to him; he quit the company of sinners in the court 
where he made his denials and burst forth into tears of 
deepest penitence and self-abasement. 3 

In the last period, between the Resurrection and the 
Ascension of Jesus, Peter again plays an important role. 
In the morning of the Resurrection Day Mary Magdalene 
hurriedly comes to the place where Peter and John were 
abiding and informed them that the grave of her Lord 
was empty. At once the two Apostles started in haste 
for the scene to see what had happened. They both ran ; 

1 Matt. 26 : 36-46; Mark 14 : 32-42. 

2 Matt. 26: 51; Mark 14: 47; Luke 22: 49-50; John iS : 10. 

3 Luke 22: 54-62; John 1S : 15-1S, 25-27. 



SIMON PETEE. 153 

John being the younger, outran Peter and reached the 
sepulchre first. He did not enter, however. Peter arrived 
at last and, impetuous as usual, entered the tomb. At a 
glance he noticed the grave-clothing lying in orderly 
array and the napkin rolled up. At first they were per- 
plexed at this condition of affairs and returned home. 1 
Soon, however, the words of Jesus that He would rise 
again from the dead began to have a different meaning 
than they hitherto had supposed. If there was much 
doubt in Peter's mind after he arrived home concerning 
the Resurrection of Jesus his doubt was soon removed by 
a personal appearance to him of Jesus on the evening of 
the same day. At this appearance Jesus sealed Peter's 
repentance with forgiveness, and, no doubt, this was the 
most important event in Peter's life. Thus Peter was the 
first of the Apostles to whom Jesus revealed Himself 
after the Resurrection. 2 

Some weeks after Jesus appeared to some of the Apos- 
tles at the Lake of Tiberias. The solitary Figure on the 
shore of the lake was first discerned by St. John as that 
of his Lord ; but Peter was the first to try to reach Him. 
Without a moment's hesitation he leaped into the sea that 
he might the quicker reach his Master. After all had par- 
taken of the meal provided by their Master on the shore, 
there followed the triple questions of Jesus concerning ' 
Peter's love for Him. Each answer of Peter shows that 
he had been purged of boasting and self-confidence. Then 
his Lord entrusted to him the most honorable of all 
charges. His Lord commissioned him to feed and lead 
and care for the flock of the Christ. And, finally, as if 
this was the reward for all his labors, He reveals to him 
1 John 20: 1-10. * Luke 24: 34; 1 Cor. 15: 5. 



104 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

bis death by martyrdom. Peter accepts the charge and 
revelation without a shadow of doubt ; but while inquir- 
ing as to the end of his fellow-disciple and companion. 
John — an impulsive, unselfish inquiry — he is told not to 
concern himself with such thoughts. Fearing nothing 
and always mindful of his own work, concentrating his 
energies on the fulfilment of the duties imposed on him- 
self, he is commanded simply "to follow the Christ." 1 
1 John 21. 



ST. PETER AFTER THE ASCENSION OF JESUS. 155 

CHAPTER XX. 

ST. PETER AFTER THE ASCENSION OF JESUS. 

THE life of St. Peter after, as before, the Ascension, 
we may divide into different periods. Each period 
we may associate with some locality in which we find him 
active. During the first period we find him only at Jeru- 
salem; during the second we find him traveling in differ- 
ent parts of Palestine, especially in Samaria ; and during 
the last period of his life he is engaged in preaching at 
various places in distant lands. As is to be expected, 
Peter easily retained the position after the Ascension of 
Jesus that he held during His sojourn on earth. He was 
easily recognized as the foremost Apostle, the spokesman 
of the Apostles on many occasions, and the leader of the 
Early Christian Church. 

The first recorded act of the Eleven after the Ascen- 
sion was suggested by St. Peter. It was perhaps only a 
few days after the departure of their Lord, when the 
Eleven proceeded to elect a successor to Judas Iscariot. 
This election was urged by St. Peter and immediately 
adopted by the rest. 1 In urging the election of a suc- 
cessor St. Peter referred to two Old Testament passages 
of Scripture, where the Psalmist prophesies both the va- 
cancy in the apostolic band by Judas, and the duty of fill- 
ing this vacancy. 2 A few days later, on the day of Pente- 
cost — ten days after the Ascension — as the disciples were 
gathered together with one accord in one of the spacious 
1 Acts i : 15-26. - Ps. 69 : 25 ; 109 : 8. 



156 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS (JURIST. 

rooms of the Temple and the Holy Spirit descended upon 
the assembled in the shape of cloven tongues of fire, St. 
Peter, as the spokesman of the apostolic company, made 
the first attempt in his address to explain and set forth 
the claim of Christianity and urge its acceptance upon his 
assembled fellow-countrymen. His sermon, if such it 
was, began with a defence, in which he explains that the 
extraordinary occurrence they witnessed was the fulfil- 
ment of Joel's prophecy. 1 In the course of his sermon he 
asserts that Jesus of Nazareth was God's Messenger to 
the chosen people of Israel. Nevertheless, according to 
God's eternal decree, He was surrendered to the chosen 
people. St. Peter then relates the events which occurred 
at Jerusalem some seven weeks previous, concluding his 
speech by urging the duty upon all such as claim to be 
members of the chosen Israel to acknowledge the crucified 
Jesus of Nazareth as the Sovereign Messiah. 2 The result 
of his address was gratifying. His hearers were con- 
vinced and asked. "What shall we do ?" To this question 
Peter answered that their first duty was to repent of their 
great national crime of rejecting God's Messiah; and then 
to be baptized in the name of Jesus the Christ, that there- 
by they may receive the forgiveness of their sins, and re- 
ceive the gift of His most gracious Spirit. 3 

If St. Peter was the first to suggest the election of a 
successor to Judas and the first to preach in the name of 
Jesus Christ and Him crucified, he is also credited with 
performing the first Christian miracle. How soon this 
first miracle was wrought after the first sermon is un- 
certain. It was in company with St. John that Peter 
went one evening to the Temple. At the gate called 
'Joel 2: 28-29. -Acts 2: 14-36. "Arts 2: 37-38. 



PETER AFTER THE ASCENSION OF JESUS. 157 

"Beautiful," they found a cripple begging" for alms. This 
cripple was the subject of Peter's miracle. "In the name 
of Jesus of Nazareth," Peter commanded him to rise up 
and walk. As soon as it was known that the lame man 
had been healed, the worshippers in the Temple flocked 
around him and Peter and his companion. Peter again 
speaks of Jesus of Nazareth and asserts that the miracle 
had been performed in His name. Thereupon Peter and 
John are put in prison and brought before the Sanhedrim 
on the following morning. Before the Sanhedrim Peter 
once more declares that the lame man had been healed in 
the name of Jesus of Nazareth. As, however, no case 
could be made out against the two Apostles they were set 
at liberty. 1 

The remaining incidents of this period are unimpor- 
tant. In the case of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, St. 
Peter, when pronouncing their doom for their sin against 
God, exercised the gift of "discernment of spirits," 2 so 
common in the apostolic age. At this time St. Peter was 
regarded by the people dwelling at Jerusalem, super- 
stitiously as a great miracle worker. 3 When all the Apos- 
tles were placed in prison by the Sadducees they were de- 
livered during the night and resumed their work of public- 
preaching and teaching in the Temple. Placed before 
the chief officers of the Temple, St. Peter, as spokesman, 
asserted that what they do was in accordance with a 
divine command. After the Apostles were scourged they 
were set at liberty and commanded not to speak again in 
the name of Jesus. 4 This imprisonment and escape ends 
the first period — the period of his activity at Jerusalem. 

1 Acts 3: 1-4; 23 3 Acts 5: 15. 

2 Acts 5 : i-n ; 1 Cor. 12 : 10. 4 Acts 5 : 17-40. 



153 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

In the next period we find St. Peter again associated 
with John. During the persecution that ensued upon the 
death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, the Gospel 
spread into various places, among which was Samaria, 
where Philip the Evangelist preached. 1 Thither Peter 
and John were sent by the rest of the Church at Jeru- 
salem. Upon investigating the condition of the church 
in Samaria, the two rendered efficient aid by further in- 
structing the new converts. 2 In Samaria St. Peter came 
also in contact with Simon Magus, a magician and a pro- 
fessed convert to Christianity. Simon Magus supposed 
that he could purchase from the Apostles the power of 
bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter rebuked 
him, but expressed the hope that he might repent. On 
their way home the two Apostles evangelized many vil- 
lages of the Samaritans. 3 

The last period of his life began with a missionary 
journey, on which we find Peter all alone. During this 
journey he came to Lydda and Joppa, on the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. At the former place he miraculously re- 
stored Aeneas to health ; 4 at the latter place he restored 
Tabitha to life. 5 From Joppa Peter went by divine 
Guidance to Caesarea, where he met Cornelius and pro- 
claimed to him Jesus. Peter was thus the first to open 
wide the doors of the Divine Kingdom to the Gentiles, 
however, on condition of faith. Peter received Cor- 
nelius into the household of faith, at the same time lay- 
ing aside his prejudice when he was bidden to eat with 
Cornelius' household. 6 For such conduct Peter was 

1 Acts 8: 4-5. * Acts 9 : 32-35. 

2 Acts 8:14. 5 Acts 9 : 36-40. 
3 Acts 8: 9, 18-23; 2 5- "Acts to. 



PETER AFTER THE ASCENSION OF JESUS. 159 

called to give an account of himself at the Church at 
Jerusalem. The circumcised Christians at Jerusalem com- 
plained of Peter's conduct in eating with uncircumcised 
and unclean Gentiles. St. Peter defended his position by 
narrating all. events that had taken place at Joppa and 
Caesarea, showing how all was done by divine Guidance, 
after which his conduct was pronounced satisfactory. 1 

At this time it is clear that St. Paul came to Jerusalem, 
obviously for the purpose to visit Peter. 2 St. Paul seems 
to indicate that Peter was the only Apostle at this time 
dwelling at Jerusalem. He was the guest of Peter for 
fifteen days, during which time, no doubt, St. Paul re- 
ceived a full account of the earthly career of the Christ 
from St. Peter. Peter remained at Jerusalem until an 
attempt was made by Herod Agrippa I. to take his life. 
In the spring of the year 44 A. D., Agrippa, to please the 
Pharisees, made an attack on the infant Church. The 
Jews, and especially their leaders, were filled with envy 
when they beheld the growth of the Church. In order to 
gratify them, Agrippa put James, the brother of John, to 
death. But when Agrippa saw that this execution pleased 
the Jews he proceeded to arrest and condemn Peter to 
death, as the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 
During the night before the execution Peter was mirac- 
ulously freed from chains and led out of the prison by an 
angel. He immediately hastened to the house of Mary 
the mother of John Mark, where he gained admission ; 
and upon departing therefrom he bade the people to in- 
form James and the brethren of his escape. 3 

From now on the life of St. Peter is rather obscure. 

'Acts 11: 1-1S. 'Acts 12: 1-17. 

-Acts 9: 26: Gal. 1 : 18. 



160 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST. 

After his escape from Jerusalem nothing is heard of him 
for some time. In the year 49 A. D. we rind him at the 
Council at Jerusalem. x\t this Council we find, besides 
Peter, James, the brother of our Lord, John, Paul and 
Barnabas. 1 In the discussion at the Council concerning 
the attitude toward the Gentile Christians St. Peter urged 
a liberal course, asserting that the Gentiles should be ex- 
empt from all Jewish ordinances. It was agreed that 
they should follow the simple course of dividing their 
labors in such a manner that Peter, John and James be 
the Apostles of the circumcision, and the other two the 
Apostles of the uncircumcision. Soon after the Council 
at Jerusalem Peter came to Antioch, where he fellow- 
shipped with the Gentiles. At once Judaic Christians, who 
came from Jerusalem, rebuked Peter for eating with the 
Gentiles. Peter submitted to them and withdrew from the 
Gentile Christians. The Judaic Christians at Antioch 
followed Peter's example, whereupon a division in the 
Church was inevitable. Paul at once administered upon 
him a sharp and well-deserved public rebuke for his moral 
cowardice. 2 

That Peter traveled extensively after this in company 
with his wife, preaching the Gospel, is certain. But the 
places he visited are uncertain. It is probable that he 
spent some time in Babylon. It is said that he came to 
Rome during the last years of his life. There is no 
trustworthy evidence to that in the New Testament, and 
even the earliest notices of St. Peter in early Christian 
literature are equally undecisive. 

Tradition states that St. Peter came to Rome and. 

'Gal. 2: 9. 
2 Gal. 2: 11-14. 



PETEE AFTEE THE ASCENSION OF JESUS. 161 

along with St. Paul, suffered martyrdom under Nero. It 
it said that after the Burning of Rome Nero accused the 
Christians of having set the city on fire, and started to 
persecute them. The Christians besought Peter to save 
himself by flight, which at last he consented to do. He 
left the smouldering city by the Appian Way, when he 
met the Lord. Peter asked him, "Lord, whither goest 
thou?" Looking sadly upon Peter, the Lord replied, "I 
go to Rome to be crucified a second time." Peter under- 
stood these words as meaning that he should return, which 
he did. At length Peter was seized, with Paul, and 
thrown in the Mamertine prison. The centurion of this 
prison, it is said, was converted. Soon after the two 
Apostles were martyred. The statements in regard to 
the place and time of their death disagree. It is common- 
ly stated that he was crucified with his head downward 
because he deemed himself unworthy to suffer exactly in 
the same way as his Lord. The legend of his death at 
Rome under Nero is doubtful. It is questionable whether 
he even reached Rome. The tradition that he was the 
first Bishop of Rome and consequently the first Pope for 
25 years, 1 month and 7 days is nothing more than a 
fable and cannot be proven from Scripture or from any 
historical evidence. St. Peter's and St. Paul's day is cel- 
ebrated on the 29th of June. 



11 



102 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
ST. SIMON ZELOTES. 

THE Apostle who bears the name Simon Zelotes x is 
the same as the one who bears the name Simon 
the Canaanite. 2 Not one single fact is mentioned about 
him in the Gospel history, except that he is included in the 
lists of the Apostles. As renowned, celebrated, and fa- 
mous as his namesake Simon Peter, so obscure and un- 
known is this Simon. 

We possess no information regarding his birthplace, 
his parents, or his early life. We are not to infer that he 
is of Cana, of Galilee, or Canaan, from his designation, 
"the Canaanite," or "Cananean." The word Canaanite. 
or Cananean, is not a geographical but a political term, 
and so we would speak of him as Simon Zelotes (Canaa- 
nite), or Simon the Zealot. The Zealots were a party or 
sect which had its origin in the rebellion led by Judas of 
Gamala against the taxation under Quirinius ; and they 
were organized among the Jews for the purpose of oppos- 
ing the domination of Rome. They may be called the 
Nationalists. They embraced the more fanatical elements 
of the population, having as their watchword : "Complete 
political independence of Roman control." That it was a 
considerable movement appears both from Gamaliel's no- 

'From Greek, Zelotes, meaning enthusiastic follower, from 
Zelos, zeal, from Zeein, to boil, to foam. Simon, from Heb., Si/meon ; 
Ger., Simon; Ital., SanSimone; Fr., St. Simon le Z,-Jr-. 

2 Canaanite or better Cananean. Cananean and Zelotes are 
equivalents, the latter being the Greek translation of the Hebrew- 
term meaning, zealous. 

162 



ST. SIMON ZELOTES. 163 

tice 1 of it and from the frequency with which Josephus 
refers to it. According to Josephus, the violence of this 
party under Florus hastened the war with Rome, which 
ended in the destruction of the beautiful Temple and 
Jerusalem, and scattered the Jewish people. He does 
not mention the death of Judas of Gamala or the fate 
of his insurrection, but Gamaliel tells us that the re- 
volt ended in his destruction and the dispersion of his 
followers. 

One of his followers, no doubt, was Simon the Canaan- 
ean, or Zealot. At first we may be surprised that a Zealot, 
.filled with reckless and fanatical patriotism, should be in- 
cluded in the apostolic company. How he ever came in 
contact with Jesus we know not. But there is no doubt 
that he had given up much ; that he had changed his mind 
as a Zealot before he was called. For as a follower of 
Jesus, he could not be thinking of avoiding to pay tax to 
the foreign government, or of taking up arms to resist 
the domination of foreign powers. As a disciple of Jesus, 
he must learn, that although God is above all, and that 
we must first render Him His due, that we must also pay 
tribute to whom tribute is due. His zealotry, purified by 
the presence and teachings of his new Leader, might 
readily become true loyalty in founding a Kingdom, not 
national as Judas, his former leader aimed at. but uni- 
versal; and not of this world, but purely spiritual and 
eternal. 

Tradition is silent as to Simon's labors after the Ascen- 
sion. It is. thought that Simon was sawn asunder. No 
place is mentioned where he died. He is honored on the 
twenty-eighth day of October, the same day on which 
Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddaeus, is honored. 
lActs 5: 37. 



164 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

ST. THOMAS. 

THOMAS, 1 the last Apostle on the apostolic roll, was a 
Galilean fisherman. 2 His parents, birthplace and early 
life are unknown, as is the case with most of the disciples. 
Thomas bears the epithet Didymus, 3 given to him by 
John. No importance needs to be attached to this epithet. 
All references to him are made by St. John, except 
where his name is given in the lists of the Apostles. No 
incident is recorded of him before the report of the sick- 
ness of Lazarus, at Bethany, came to Jesus. When Jesus 
was told that Lazarus was sick, He proposed to visit him, 
but the disciples tried to dissuade Him from the risk of 
going. They remembered how the Jews treated Him on 
a former visit to Judaea, when they sought to stone Him. 4 
The disciples were afraid of Jewish hostility, fearing 
that their Master would surely be ill treated this time if 
he appeared among them. These fears were not shared 
by Thomas. "Let us also go, that we may die with Him," 5 
said he. If the Jews on this occasion would again seek 
to harm Jesus, he was willing to suffer with Him. His 

1 From Heb. , Thoma, meaning twin; Greek, Thomas; Lat , 
Thomas; Ger., Thomas; Ital., San Thommaso ; Span., San Tom,'. 

2 John 21 : 2-3. 

sjohn 11 : 16. Didymus from Greek, Didymos, meaning twin. 
Didymos is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name of Thomas, 
and means the same as Thoma in Hebrew, twin. 

♦John 11 : 7-8. 5 John 11 : 16. 

164 



ST. THOMAS. 165 

love and devotion to His Lord was strong. He would 
rather die with Him than desert His Cause. 

The next incident of his life occurred after the Apos- 
tles had partaken of the Last Supper with Jesus. In the 
discourse which followed, Jesus spoke to His disciples of 
His departure. This announcement filled Thomas with 
anxiety and perplexity. He raised the question, "Lord, 
we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know 
the way ?" * This question of Thomas brought forth from 
the lips of Jesus the great remark, "I am the way, the 
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but 
by me." 2 

It is certain that the hopes of Thomas were buried in 
the grave of Jesus. He and the rest of the disciples must 
have poured out their hearts to one another, suggesting, 
doubting, fearing, unable to resolve as to the future. 
Still the disciples are found united in apostolic fellow- 
ship, although the first time they are mentioned after the 
Resurrection Thomas was not present. The occasion was 
the appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples on the 
evening of the Resurrection Day. As soon as they found 
Thomas, they said to him, "We have seen the Lord." 
Thomas was unable to accept their testimony. He must 
have other evidence beside their testimony. He must him- 
self not only see What the rest had seen, but touch His 
Body before he could believe them, or believe that it was 
the Master. "Except I shall see in his hands the print of 
the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, 
and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." In 
this way only. Thomas thought he would be sure that 

^ohn 14: 5- 
2 John 14: 6. 



166 THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 

What the disciples had seen, had not been a mere phantom. 
A week later the disciples were again assembled when 
Jesus appeared to them. This time Thomas was also 
present. After saluting the disciples, Jesus at ©nee turned 
to the doubter and spoke to him in words which made 
him recall at once his vehement reply to his fellow-disci- 
ples eight days previous, saying, "Reach hither thy finger, 
and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and 
thrust into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." 
The doubts of Thomas soon vanished, and this remark- 
able incident brought forth from the lips of Thomas the 
most complete confession of faith ever recorded in the 
Gospels, "My Lord and my God." In this greatest of all 
confessions, Thomas not only expressed his belief that 
Jesus His Lord, Who was dead, is alive ; but also that He 
is divine. He is his God-alive ; upon Him death can have 
no dominion. 1 

One more notice is made of Thomas in the post -Res- 
urrection period. He does not play an important part on 
this occasion, but is simply mentioned as one of the party 
of seven that made a fishing expedition on the Sea of Tib- 
erias some weeks after the Resurrection, and to whom the 
Lord appeared. 2 

These notices of St. Thomas reveal a personality of 
unique interest. His character appears to be affectionate 
and self-sacrificing. "Let us also g'o, that we may die 
with him." His temperament is that of a man who usually 
finds the best thing too good to be true. So great was his 
incredulity that he has always been remembered for that 
rather than for his other characteristics. In his gloomiest 
days of unbelief and uncertainty, he does not separate 
'John 20: 19-29. 'John 21 : 1-3. 



ST. THOMAS. 167 

himself from the apostolic circle. Even after he declared 
to the rest his doubts concerning- the Risen Lord, we find 
him with the Apostles. His doubt expressed on the even- 
ing of the first Resurrection Day certainly disproves the 
assertion sometimes made that the Apostles were easily 
misled by their hopes and the sayings of their Lord, and 
so were mistaken when they declared they had seen and 
spoken to their Lord. His confession was uttered after 
he had seen the wounds of the Lord, because what he had 
seen was too true and certain to reject. 



DEC 5 1913 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: June 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park I 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724) 779-21 1 1 



m 



